Traffik
by emmadactryl
Summary: Alpha Force are on holiday in China when Alex witnesses something that will turn their stay upside down. Set after Desert Pursuit. Rate T for safety. Please review and help me with ideas. Bit of AmberHex and PauloLi.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: If you are reading this then most likely you are a fan of the Alpha Force books. If so, any characters in this story that you recognise are Chris Ryan's; any that you don't recognise are mine and mine alone. **

**A/N: The majority of the information in here is true, but there is some that I made up. I had to do a newspaper article thingo for school, where we had to find a newspaper article, summarise it and then right about how we felt after reading the article. Riveting fun really :(**** But I found an article on baby-trafficking in China and felt like I had to right an Alpha Force story based on that. Right up their alley I think! Also, they can drive. Ok. They can drive.**

Amber sat on her bed, absentmindedly playing with a tassel on her pillow. She gave a bored sigh and flung herself backwards, so she was lying, stretched out, on the bed.

A knock on the door woke her. Looking at her watch, Amber was shocked to realise she had been asleep for two hours. The knock came again, louder this time.

'Amber?' John Middleton pushed open the door and poked his head around the corner. 'There you are.' Amber gave a small smile and gestured to the bed she was still sitting on.

'I guess I fell asleep,' she said sheepishly. John laughed then came across the room to sit next to her on the bed. He was holding a hat upside that was filled with small pieces of folded paper. Amber raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow and stared at her uncle. He grinned and shook the hat.

'Go on. Pick one,' he urged her. Amber was puzzled but eagerly pulled out a piece of paper. She unfolded it and turned to her uncle.

'What...?' John clapped his hands together once as he read what was written on the paper over his niece's shoulder.

'Go ring your friends Amber. Then get packing. You leave tomorrow.' Amber smiled then hugged John.

'Wow! Really? Are you serious?' He nodded and Amber's grin got wider. And slyer. 'Hex will hate this,' she laughed happily.


	2. Chapter 1

The city streets were bright and colourful. And loud. Everywhere Alpha Force looked, people swarmed. There was a festival on that started the next day and went on for a week. While it was going to be an experience that they didn't want to miss, it did mean that the streets were crowded and the price of everything shot up.

'China was a great place to come for a holiday,' Hex grumbled sarcastically. Amber grinned and poked Hex in the ribs, her dark eyes sparkling with mischief.

'You should socialise more. Then all the people wouldn't seem so crushing.' She looked around her, searching for the others. Amber grinned again as she spotted tiny, Anglo-Chinese Li and big, Argentinean Paulo battling against the crowds. They pushed their way out of the main crowd and struggled through the smaller groups towards Amber and Hex. Alex popped up in front of them, his blonde hair tousled from his own battles with the mass of people, and they made their way back to the hotel.

* * *

Alex woke up and rubbed his eyes. Looking at his watch, he saw it was only 1:00 am. The streets should have been deserted, but he could hear a baby crying. Curious, Alex moved to the window in the corner of the room, making sure he was quiet as he didn't want to wake Hex and Paulo who were sleeping soundly in the other two beds. 

Across the road and to his left, Alex saw three people, a woman and two men. He couldn't hear them, but the crying appeared to be coming from a blanket that the woman was holding. In the light of a street lamp, he could see that the woman's face was tearstained and she was gripping the baby tightly. Standing beside her was a man, probably her husband. He was standing straight and tall, with an unreadable expression on his face. The third person, the second man, was grinning as he handed a wad of cash over to the other man. Alex stared at the man's face, memorising every detail, sure that he would need to have a description of him in the near future. The second man reached out his hands and the woman reluctantly placed the blanket clad baby in his grasp. He pulled the edge of the blanket away, and seemed to be checking the infant over. With a decisive nod and a pleased smile, the man walked away, leaving the weeping woman and her pokerfaced husband in the pale glow of the street lamp. Alex crept back to bed, thoughts turning over in his head.

* * *

Over breakfast the next morning, Alex told the rest of Alpha Force what he had seen the night before. Hex immediately took his palmtop out of its protective black case attached to his belt and turned the small computer on. Within ten minutes, he had some information on what Alex probably witnessed. 

'Baby-trafficking,' Hex announced. He read straight off the website. '"Faced withy the one child policy, many parents in China will sell their baby girls in order to be able to try for a male heir."' Amber was outraged.

'That's awful!' she cried. 'Those poor little babies...' But Hex wasn't finished. His green eyes flashing with anger, Hex read out what else was written on the web page.

'"While authorities have been attempting to close down this trade, there are still some major players out there. There are two main ways that they transport the babies. One is to send them with "mothers": young women who take the infant (on a train mostly) from the parents to the buyer or distributor. The second way is to drug the babies and put them in bags. While the second way allows for more children to be sent at one time, the first is less conspicuous and is the favoured method of transporting the infants."' As Hex finished speaking, a determined silence hung in the air. Without speaking, all five of them had vowed to do something about the baby trafficking.


	3. Chapter 2

'We need a plan.' Alex stated the obvious just to fill in the silence.

'Like what?' Amber fidgeted in her seat. Hex looked around at the other members of Alpha Force. His gaze fell on Li and he frowned. Then slowly, a smile spread across his face. The others stared at him, confused.

'I've got it!' he declared triumphantly. He turned to Li. 'It's all up to you.'

* * *

Li stood at the train station exit, taping her tiny foot. She went over the conversation with Hex in her again. 

_'You need to go up to the man and ask him if he needs any help transporting the babies,' Hex told her. Li looked shocked. _

_'Won't he clam up?' she asked him anxiously. 'Or kill me?' In answer, Hex shook his head, then jerked a thumb at the open palmtop. Quickly, Li scanned the webpage, noting that it had a police academy logo in the top left hand corner. _Hex the hacker does it again_, she thought. _

_'I don't get it.' Hex sighed and explained. _

_'Police have used this method to catch other traffickers, so it should work.'_

Li snapped back to reality as the unmistakable sound of a train came closer. She positioned herself beside the exit, then waited impatiently while a stream of people poured out of the station.

The man was the last person out. Based on the description Alex had given her (a short man, Chinese, black hair, pale skin, brown eyes, with a limp and a scar on his left cheek) Li was 99 sure that this was the same guy that had bought the baby off the couple. She stepped in front of him and cleared her throat

'Excuse me sir,' she began. 'Could I talk to you for a moment?' The man frowned, then nodded. Hurdle number one cleared, but there were a few more obstacles in her way and the track was very slippery. She took a deep breath.

'I was wondering if you had any vacancies for work.' The man frowned again. Li lowered her voice and moved closer towards him. 'Transporting the babies.' The man's eyes flashed and he took a step back.

'What babies?' His tone was threatening, but Li wasn't about to give up. Swallowing her fear, she licked her lips and tried to persuade him that she was friend not foe.

'My friend helps you. She told me about it because I don't have any work and I'm out of money and behind in my rent...' Li trailed off, aware that she was blabbering. A tense silence hung in the air and then, for the first time, the man smiled. He looked no less threatening. If anything, he looked even more dangerous.

'Of course. But you breathe a word and...' He drew a finger across his throat. The meaning was all too clear and Li nodded. 'Your friend should not have told you.' Li shrugged, then tentatively asked when the next lot of babies would be transported.

'Four hours. Be here in three and a half.' He disappeared around a corner. Calming her furiously beating heart, Li grinned in triumph and hurried back to the waiting car.

* * *

Alpha Force were back in the hotel, sitting in Li and Amber's room. 

'Right,' Hex said. 'Who wants to go in the train with Li?' Paulo immediately volunteered. Alex also said he would go in the train, leaving Amber and Hex to track them in the car. While Amber, Alex and Li went over each of the different groups roles in the plan, Paulo pulled Hex aside. His brown (?) eyes betrayed the worry he was feeling.

'Li will be ok, yes?' he said quietly. Hex nodded.

'Of course. We'll be tracking all of you- you will have your tracers on- and you and Alex can keep an eye on her.' He smiled at Paulo, knowing how he felt. 'She'll be fine. I promise.' Paulo nodded, then looked at Li and sighed.

'I hope so.'


	4. Chapter 3

Hex and Amber sat in the car, waiting for the blips on Hex's palmtop screen to start moving. They were halfway to the train's destination. As soon as the train started to move, they would drive to the destination. All going to plan, they would all arrive at the same place, at the same time.

Amber sighed and looked around. They had been sitting there for half an hour and had about another ten minutes or so wait ahead of them. She glanced at Hex and found that he had fallen asleep. Amber gave a little chuckle and smiled fondly as she saw him clutching his precious palmtop, even in sleep. Her smile turned into a thoughtful frown as she remembered their last mission in Africa. Khalid's (**A/N thank you guys for helping me with that! I really appreciate it!**) comment had thrown her off balance. Ever since then, she had gone over it in her head a hundred times and she still wasn't sure of the answer. Did she or didn't she like Hex? He was a really good friend of hers, just like Li, Alex and Paulo, and she had always thought of him as that only. Or had she? Amber rubbed her forehead in confusion. If she did like him, what would happen? Should she say something, or just keep quiet? Amber groaned and shifted in her seat. It was better not to think about it. Then she wouldn't have to listen to the little voice at the back of her mind that whispered, '_You do like him, Amber._'

To distract herself, Amber leaned over and looked at the palmtop. The dots had begun to move. Amber grinned and shook Hex by the shoulder. Finally, some action! Hex's eyes flicked open and he found himself staring into Amber's eyes. He felt his heart pound and quickly looked away, distracting himself by fiddling with the palmtop. _Stop it_, he told himself. Hex had been having the same emotional battle that Amber had been going through. He had heard the comment that Khalid had made to Amber and although she had never answered it, he couldn't help wondering what her answer would have been. Starting up the car, he put it into gear and they drove off.

* * *

Li held the infant carefully in her arms. The baby was swathed in a blanket and was sleeping peacefully. Across the carriage, Paulo and Alex sat, keeping a close eye on her. There were three other "mothers", all holding baby girls. They all seemed to know each other well and chatted away. Li felt bored. There was nothing to do and no one to talk to. While the train journey was only meant to be short, Li willed it on quicker. She hoped that Hex and Amber had picked up the signals and were on their way. Li smiled inwardly at the thought of the two of them. While neither one had said anything to her and she hadn't asked, Li had the feeling that they were more fond of each other than either of them cared to admit. 

The train's whistle sounded, interrupting her thoughts. They pulled into the station. People swarmed everywhere and, in the confusion, Paulo and Alex lost sight of Li. Frantic, they jostled their way out of the carriage and tried to spot her. Paulo was panicking.

'Li!' he called. 'Li!' the train pulled away and the station became less crowded, giving the two boys a chance to have a proper look around. Alex and Paulo shared a horrified glance. Li had disappeared.

* * *

As soon as the train pulled up, Li and the other three girls got off. Li, assuming that Paulo and Alex were watching her back, didn't worry as they walked into a building across from the train station. If only she knew. Just as Li walked into the room, she had a gun shoved in her back and the baby was ripped from her arms. A tall man, with grey eyes as hard as steel, glared at her. 

'Move!' he growled, still pressing the gun to her spine. Li obeyed, hoping that Alex and Paulo realised that something was seriously wrong.

* * *

Hex kept his eyes fixed on the road, not only to make sure he stayed on the bitumen in the failing light, but also so he didn't have to look at Amber again. He had to face the facts; he never had that reaction- a fast pounding heart and a blush on his cheeks- when he looked Li in the eyes. He was distracted from his thoughts by headlights on the road in front of them. 

'What the...?'

A bullet crashed into the windscreen, shattering it and sending glass flying, before shooting past Amber and burying itself in the back seat. Amber screamed as Hex swerved. The tyres spun as they tried to grip the road, but they couldn't get traction and the car plunged down the hill. Both Amber and Hex were thrown forward and they blacked out as their heads hit the dashboard. The headlights from the second car shone on the wreckage.


	5. Chapter 4

Alex frowned in a mixture of confusion, frustration and worry. He had tried both Amber and Hex's mobiles numerous times and had gotten voicemail every time. Paulo was pacing up and down. Hex had promised him. He swore, then turned to Alex.

'We must find Li,' he said determinedly.

'Amber and Hex aren't answering their phones,' Alex told him. Paulo seemed not to hear him.

'She must be in trouble.' Alex shook him. Hard.

'Li isn't the only one in potential danger here. What about Hex and Amber?' Paulo groaned and sat down.

'What will we do?' Alex shrugged. What could they do?

* * *

Amber sat up. She hurt all over. It was as if she had been hit by a truck. Darkness engulfed her and she panicked. 

'Hex?' As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, Amber could just make out a shape in the corner of the room. The shape moved.

'Yeah?' She let out a gust of air, relief flooding through her. Hex moved over to Amber and sat next to her. In the darkness, he accidentally put his hand on hers and Amber felt like she had had an electric shock. Hex had the same reaction and he hurriedly shifted his hand, glad that Amber couldn't see his red cheeks. Amber took a shaky breath and tried to control her own blush.

Eager to end the awkward silence, she asked, 'Where are we?' Hex was glad of the distraction.

'Don't know. But I'd say that whoever shot at us and caused us to crash is also responsible for our imprisonment.' They searched the walls and eventually found a door. Locked. They sat down again, careful not to accidentally brush up against each other. Hex felt in his pockets, but their captors had taken his mobile and, Hex realised with a pang as his hand touched his belt and found the pouch no longer there, his palmtop. Amber searched her own pockets and found her's gone too. The full extent of their situation hit them. No one knew where they were and they had no way to let anyone know that they were in trouble.

* * *

Li was in a dark room at the back of the building. They took her phone and told her they would not hesitate to shoot her if the need arose. Li shivered and realised just what danger she was in. they way that they said they would shoot her... It brought back a flood of painful memories of the Scorpion and his cruel child slave trade. She shivered again and hugged her knees to her chest. 

'Please guys,' she whispered. 'Please find me before it's too late.'

* * *

Paulo answered the police officer's questions with a growing sense of impatience. After what seemed like hours, the detective, a slim, attractive lady with black hair and piercing eyes, allowed him and Alex to leave, promising them that they would do everything possible to find their three friends. Alex was trying to ring Hex, Amber and Li again but with no such luck. He pocketed his phone and stared at the floor. 

'What if something terrible has happened to them.' Alex looked at Paulo. 'What if they've been-' He cut off when Paulo grabbed his shoulders.

'Do not say it,' he said fiercely. 'The police will find them. Alive and well.' Alex nodded, but he wasn't sure if he believed his friend.

* * *

The man behind the whole operation strode into Li's cell. He held a gun and motioned with it that Li should walk out of the room. Following him along the dimly lit corridor, Li wondered whether escape was possible. _Not a chance_, she thought sadly, noticing the lack of windows and remembering that her captors were armed. And not worried about having someone's death on their conscious. 

They eventually came to a small room-windowless- that contained a metal table and two badly scratched and dented metal chairs. The man gestured towards one seat then sat down across from Li.

'We never got acquainted properly. Ling Cho.' Li ignored him. 'What is your name?' Again Li remained silent. 'You didn't think that I was that stupid, did you? Just say that a total stranger could help me with my business? You are much dumber than you look.' Li stared at him.. _Thanks Hex_, she thought. Cho grinned.

'We saw you talking to two people before you bordered the train. We have them.' Panic flicked across Li's eyes. Paulo and Alex must have been captures as well. 'Yes. I sent four of my men out to get them. They shot the windscreen out and they crashed.' _Wait a minute_, Li thought. _Crashed_? That had to be Amber and Hex. She wanted to jump up and strangle Cho. The man who had captured her, Amber and Hex. The man who was smiling at her panic. Li couldn't fight it any longer. She launched herself at Cho, but two guards Li hadn't noticed before, grabbed her. Before they dragged her back to her cell, Cho tweaked Li on the chin.

'Spirited. And I see you care deeply for your friends. Very interesting.' He strode off and Li glared at his retreating back.

She fought every step of the way, as the two guards marched her back to her prison. She struggled and kicked but they held her tight and ignored Li's attempts to try and injure them. They pushed her into the room and locked the door, before hurrying away.

Only once she was alone in her cell, did Li realise what she had done. _I see that you care deeply for your friends_. He was going to hurt Amber and Hex. Use them to get to her. Li gave a sob and buried her face in her hands.


	6. Chapter 5

Although the floor was cold, tiredness overcame discomfort and Amber and Hex soon drifted into sleep. They had lain close to each other on the concrete floor, hoping that would give them some warmth. Amber had slept soundly but Hex had woken a few times and was now wide awake. Their situation was grim. There was no way out unless the others somehow figured out something was wrong and got the police involved.

Amber shifted in her sleep and moved closer to Hex. He felt himself blush again and silently scolded himself. _It's cold_, he said inside his head. _You're both trying to keep warm. That's all. _He looked at her peaceful face and sighed. Hex had made the decision subconsciously a little while back, but he still wasn't sure. Did he really love and care about Amber more than anyone else? More than his family? More than the other members of Alpha Force? Hex knew the answer, but he didn't want to admit it. He gave a sad sigh, closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep.

* * *

Something was wrong. Seriously wrong. Li gazed about her as best she could in the smoke filled room. Still groggy with sleep, it took her a moment to realise that she was in trouble. Smoke meant fire. 

Panic flooded through her and she bashed desperately on the metal door, but no one came. Sobbing in despair, she slid down it, pushing on the door handle on the way down. With a click, the door swung open. Startled, Li just sat there, blinking in surprise at the now open space. Then she leapt up and ran.

* * *

Amber was woken out of her deep sleep by the harsh, acid taste of smoke. Her eyes flew open and she gasped as the smoke swirled around her. Sitting up, Amber grasped Hex's arm. 

'Come on! Get up! There's a fire!' She shook him. When he didn't stir, a horrible thought occurred to her. Maybe he was... _No_. Amber shook her head, then leaned down close to Hex. She felt his warm breath on her face and breathed out a sigh of relief. He was still breathing.

Just as she was about to pull away and try to wake him again, Hex's eyes flicked open. Once again, he felt his pounding heart in his chest and the blush on his cheeks. That all stopped with Amber's next words.

'There's a fire.'

Staggering upward, they realised how much the smoke engulfed them. If they lost each other in this, unless they were in earshot, they could never find each other. Amber realised this and moved closer to Hex.

'Give me your hand,' she said, holding hers out so that Hex could see it. Hex had also come to the conclusion of the easiness of getting lost, so he grasped Amber's outstretched hand without question, ignoring the now familiar shock. Slowly, they moved forward.

At the door they stopped.

'It's locked, remember,' Amber groaned.

'Wait a minute.' Hex pushed on the handle and the door swung open. Amber looked at him in surprise. 'Some buildings have this function. When the smoke alarm goes off, the doors unlock.'

Up until now, they hadn't noticed the fire alarm. It was a high pitched, whining noise growing steadily louder. A bit like a motorbike.

Hex and Amber ran through the doorway and down the smoke-filled corridor. They had no idea where they were, but if they stopped they had absolutely no chance of escaping. The fire was huge; a great wall of red, orange and yellow heat, that towered above their heads. _Our cell must have been furtherest away_, Hex thought. Here, the smoke wasn't as thick, but it was still choking and now they had the added heat of the flames. Staggering along, Hex tripped and banged his head on something. It was a wooden door of some sort. A cupboard or wardrobe maybe. Blinking through the smoky haze, Hex peered at the door. He grinned and turned to Amber.

'We're saved!' he cried.

**A/N Hey guys. Hope you like my story so far. Please review as I am now stuck for ideas. Should I drag it on a bit and have Amber and Hex recaptured or finish it and let them get out? Does anyone want there to be anything more between Amber and Hex or should I leave it? The reason I have this big block all together is because I wrote this in a notebook while I was camping with my family in Townsville and had to type it all up in one go then put it on. Please review and I will update once I have more ideas! Thanks.**


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thank you sooooooooooo much to elledreamer and spinkle22 for your great reviews and helpful comments. I really appreciate it and you have inspired me to write more. A new chapter should be up fairly soon. Please review this new chapter and give me any more helpful advice.**

Li was desperate. Everywhere she looked, thick, grey smoke surrounded her. She couldn't breath and was coughing constantly. Stumbling along the corridor, she heard a loud bang, then a triumphant cry. It sounded like, 'We're saved'. Li shook her head, and tried to clear her mind, but it was no use. She had to get out. Now.

Staggering along the hall, Li kept one hand firming against the wall, so she didn't loose her way and end up even deeper into the heart of the building. For what seemed like ages, she walked automatically, coughing every now and then in an attempt to clear her lungs of the foul smoke.

She almost missed the door. Li's hand skimmed over air, as the door wasn't level with the wall. Her confused brain had trouble processing the new information, and she continued walking until her hand touched the wall again. After a few more steps, Li seemed to realise that there was a piece of wall missing and she retraced her steps. Leaning towards the "hole", Li discovered that it was door. It was made of metal and cold under her hand.

Li pushed her hand over the door, searching for a handle. _Come on! Where are you? _Her hand hit a small bar and she pressed it down triumphantly. _Aha! Got you! _Li flung open the door and stumbled through, noticing the ebony black sky with small white flecks scattered across it. _Stars_, Li thought without making the connection. She heaved in great lung fulls of air and then stopped. She looked up again and saw the twinkling lights far in the distance. _Stars. Stars mean night sky and night sky means..._ She gave a whoop of delight, but her celebration was cut short by a fit of coughing. Her chest ached after a minute or so of continuous coughing, and she felt light-headed. With a groan, Li sank to the ground. Another fit of coughing hit her and her throat felt as though she had swallowed sandpaper. Gasping for breath, Li felt her vision swim. Black shadows edged across her eyes and she collapsed.

* * *

Hex gave a whoop of joy and pulled Amber closer to the cupboard. She stared at the door and the attached piece of paper for a few minutes, then shook her head. 

'What's so exciting about a piece of paper?' she asked. Hex sighed and rolled his eyes.

'It's not that.' He pushed her head gently towards the paper. 'It's what's on it.'

Amber stared at the page with wonder. All she could she through the smoke was some lines and a couple of black smudges. She shook her head again. Hex was getting exasperated.

'It's a bloody fire evacuation map!' He waved a hand in front of the paper to try and clear some of the smoke and Amber finally saw what the paper contained.

It was a large, white sheet of cardboard, laminated and stuck to the cupboard with drawing pins. In the centre of the map was a huge, red dot with the words "you are here" printed in big, bold text. Around this was a simple map of the building, with a dotted line leading them to the back door. By looking at the map, Hex had just about confirmed his theory of their cell being at the back of the building. They were so intent on studying the map and making sure that they knew their way to the back door, they didn't see the figure loom out of the smoke towards them. By the time they realised, it was too late.

* * *

Paulo and Alex had been wandering around for hours. Instead of going back to their hotel, they had booked new accommodation at their destination. Just in case Li, Amber or Hex did escape if they were being held captive, they wanted to be near to aid them in any way they could. 

It was getting very late and the two boys were about to head back to their hotel room and try to get some sleep, when they saw smoke. It was billowing upwards but couldn't have been there very long, as they hadn't noticed it on their walks around the streets.

On reflex, they both broke into a run, pounding down the street towards the smoke. The building was opposite the railway station and several people were running from there to help. A few of the people from the building had gotten out, and they were sitting or standing, coughing loudly. Alex pushed his way through the crowd towards a young woman lying on the ground. Her face was deathly pale and she was breathing shallowly. Alex was a few metres away, when he stopped. The man who he had seen from his hotel window just a few nights ago, was kneeling down by the woman's head and talking to her quietly. Paulo had followed Alex over and was now whispering in Alex's ear.

'What is it?' Alex turned around so he was facing his friend, his face clouded with fury.

'That's the guy I saw buying the baby. He was the one who hired Li. I bet he has something to do with her, Amber and Hex's disappearances.' Paulo glared at him and clenched his hands into fists. He moved forward, but Alex moved in front of him. He shook his head and was about to try and calm his friend down, when a piercing scream cut through the night. They looked at each other, then ran round the side of the flaming building, dreading what they might find.

* * *

The man had grabbed Amber around the waist and held a gun to her temple. He flicked his head to the side, then looked pointedly at Hex. He got the message. Move or she gets it. He hurried out of the room and almost collided with another man. He was huge, towering above Hex and was almost as wide as he was tall. The man grinned at Hex, then beckoned to him. Amber was still being held by the first man, who had also emerged from the room and was standing behind Hex. With a frustrated sigh, Hex followed the giant down the passage. 

It took them only a few minutes to reach the back door. Hex felt frustrated and angry. They had been so close. Now, he and Amber were in danger again. As soon as they stepped outside, Hex took deep breath, feeling the clear night air flow down his parched throat and into his lungs. He felt a bit light headed but that soon passed. There were other things to worry about.

Amber didn't look very well. She had a grey tinge around her mouth and was looking very unstable on her feet. Hex didn't know whether Amber hadn't had her evening insulin dose yet, but he didn't dare say anything in case the guards heard and used it against her. She looked at Hex with huge, startled eyes and he felt a longing to go and comfort her. _It'll be ok,_ he mouthed at her. Amber's brown eyes grew sad and she shook her head. They were interrupted by a loud scream, coming from the direction of a vehicle parked in the corner of the yard.

* * *

Li had lay on the ground for what seemed like hours. She had never felt so tired and drained of energy in her life. Normally she was bright, happy, energetic Li. Never shys away from a challenge, the more dangerous the better. But all she wanted to do now was to be safe. She wanted to be with her friends and family again. To be able to just relax and not worry about the flames blazing in the building behind her. 

She coughed again and a surprised yell came from the corner of the yard. There was the sound of crunching gravel, then Li was jerked to her feet. There were two men, Chinese and dressed in sharp suits. They looked critically at Li, then the first man picked her up and took her across to a jeep-type vehicle just like the one the Scorpion had used to transport his child slaves. Li shuddered at the memory and suddenly it all came flashing back. The man turned into the Scorpion and she could see Hakim struggling in the sand and clutching his leg. Li screamed and tried to pull away. She hit the man with her fists, but she was so weak it did nothing. Sobbing with fear and desperation, Li gave up and let the men bundle her into the back of the jeep.

* * *

Alex was just in front of Paulo. He rounded the corner of the building and stopped dead. Paulo cannoned into his back and Alex gave a yell as he fell flat on his face. Paulo tripped over Alex and they ended up in a tangle of arms and legs on the gravel courtyard. There were angry shouts, then two men strode over and hauled the boys to their feet. 

'Alex! Paulo!' They whipped their heads round in the direction of the shout. Hex was standing a few metres from Amber. Both were held by burly guards.

Paulo had been taken in front of Alex and reached the jeep first. The guard pulled back the cover and in the half light he saw a familiar, slight figure hunched up in the corner of the truck. Her black hair was covered in ash and soot and it hung like a screen in front of her face. Paulo was released by the guard and he hurried to her side.

'Li,' he said softly. Her head jerked up, eyes big with terror. When she saw it was Paulo, Li gave a sob and threw herself at him. Paulo caught her in his arms and hugged her tight. She buried her face in his chest and sobbed louder.

They were still like this a few moments later when Alex was thrown into the jeep, closely followed by Hex and Amber. Alex sat on the bench running along the left hand side of the truck, next to Li and Paulo, while Hex sat on the opposite bench. Amber was shaking and on the verge of tears. She took a step forward and stumbled. Hex steadied her and helped her sit on the bench next to him. Li and Paulo had pulled apart but were still sitting close to each other next to Alex and Paulo had his arm around Li's shoulders.

Amber looked at her friend's terrified faces and the situation suddenly seemed too much. She gave a groan and tears seeped out of her eyes and rolled down her face. Hex compulsively reached out and drew her close to him. She leaned against Hex and cried harder. Alex looked at Hex in surprise then quickly dropped his gaze when he saw his friend's expression.

After a few minutes, Amber sat back up. She hadn't been crying for a little while now but had stayed close to Hex for comfort. For some reason, she had felt safer as soon as he had pulled her closer to him. She had felt hopeful. That maybe they would get out and still help the babies. Amber smiled gently at Hex as she sat up.

'Sorry about that,' she said quietly. Hex smiled back and shook his head.

'S'ok.' He looked into her eyes and Amber felt her heart quicken. _Whoa. Hold on a minute_, she thought. Amber dropped her gaze and quickly fiddled wit her belt pouch, pulling out the chunky pen that contained a pre-set dose of insulin. Amber injected it into her leg, then put the pen away. By this time, she had calmed down and felt that she was able to look around the truck without giving anything away.

Paulo and Li were fast asleep, leaning up against each other, Paulo still with his arm around Li. Hex had shifted over to Alex and they were quietly discussing the past day. Amber gave a startled squeal as the truck moved. She gripped the bench tightly and shared a look of horror with Hex and Alex. They were moving. But where to? And what awaited them at their final destination?


	8. Chapter 7

The jeep bucked over the bumpy road. For the first half hour or so the jeep had been on a seeled road, meaning that the going was rather smooth. Li and Paulo had stayed asleep, but that didn't really say much as Li was drained of every last bit of energy, and Paulo could sleep anywhere. Soon after that, they had begun to climb. At first it wasn't so noticeable, but then the bitumen ended and the fun really began. Every now and then, the jeep would hit a deep hole and it felt as if the entire vehicle would shake itself to death.

Hex had remained next to Alex until he was tossed off the end of the seat. There was not really much room for him there, so he moved back over to sit next to Amber. They clung on for dear life as the jeep squealed around a bend. Li gave a gasp and closed her eyes tight as if that might make the whole situation go away.

Unknown to Alpha Force, the front of the vehicle was filled with the four guards who had grabbed Amber, Li and Hex. Behind the jeep followed two more cars filled with more guards and Ling Cho. Cho was grinning happily and rubbing his hands with glee. While having five hostages, all foreign, could cause some serious problems, he knew that somehow he could make this whole situation work to his advantage.

After studying the five teenagers, he knew who to manipulate. They all seemed incredibly close, but there appeared to be some deeper feelings in the group between certain people. Cho had made a mental note of this and knew that if things turned nasty, he had that small piece of very important information tucked away at the back of his mind. He smiled and stared at the jolting jeep ahead of him. _Yes. This will be fine_.

It took another hour and a half to reach their destination; a cluster of small, stone buildings high in the rugged Chinese mountains. They were surrounded by thick forest, and steep cliffs all around. To be able to reach the buildings, Cho had called for several helicopters and they had left the vehicles at the bottom of a sixty metre cliff, then flew up to the base.

Alex was worried. Not only did he not know where they were, he had no idea what these men were capable of. _Or women_, he corrected himself as five young females came walking out of one of the buildings. Four of the women took the babies that Cho handed them from the back of his car, while the fifth came over to Alpha Force. She was petite, with short, black hair and grey eyes. From a distance, she didn't look a day over twenty-five, but up close Alex could see the bits of grey in her hair, and the slight wrinkles on her face.

The woman regarded them with a cold stare, and then beckoned to them. Alpha Force looked at each other, then followed reluctantly. The woman stopped when she reached a building with a thick, metal bar door. With a flourish, she drew a key out of the pocket of her big jacket and unlocked the door. Stepping back, she looked pointedly at them, then the door. With a frustrated sigh, she gave Paulo, who was standing at the front of their little group, a shove in the back. He stumbled inside and his friends followed quickly. The woman locked the door, pulled a canvas sheet across it and left Alpha Force in darkness apart from a pool of moonlight streaming in through a high bared window. Alpha Force looked at that small window, and wondered how they were going to escape. It seemed so hopeless.

Amber blinked slowly, and shifted position. Hex was lying on her arm, and Alex was lying with his head on her ankle. It mustn't have been very comfortable for him, because it sure was painful for her. With a little shake of her leg, she flicked Alex's head off her foot, then shoved Hex off her arm. With an angry scowl on her face, Amber rubbed her ankle and tried to get rid of the pins and needles flowing up and down her arm.

Hex yawned and stretched, grinning at her.

'What a comfortable sleep I had last night. My pillow was so soft and-' He stopped and ducked Amber's swinging fist. Li was sitting next to Hex, plaiting her long hair. Paulo was still sound asleep next to Alex and Hex grinned again. He and Amber got up and slowly made their way towards Paulo. With a yell, the started tickling him. Paulo's eyes flew open and he was gasping for breath.

'Stop! Please!' Amber and Hex eventually relented and left Paulo clutching his sides and breathing deeply. He glared at them. 'What a wake-up.'

The canvas sheet was pulled back, allowing the early morning sunlight and the early morning chill in. The same lady who had locked them up the night before was holding five small bowls. She unlocked the door and pushed the bowls inside, before slamming the door shut, relocking it and striding away.

Alpha Force ponced hungrily on the white, plastic bowls and pulled back the lids. A strange fragrance drifted out and they all looked in wonder at the contents of the containers.

'Ah. Does anyone actually know what this _is _exactly?' Hex remarked with a wary glance at his food. There was some rice and a few chunks of some sort of meat. What animal it came from they couldn't say but it was food.

'I don't care. I'm hungry.' Li attacked her food with pleasure, ignoring the strange taste in her mouth. Paulo gave Amber a wicked grin and stirred his food slowly with a chopstick.

'Well, Amber. It cannot be as bad as those grubs.' Amber glared at Paulo, then spun around so her back was to him.

'I toldyou not to mention that _ever_ again.' Alex and Hex snorted with laughter, but quickly turned it into a cough when Amber shot them a furious look.

Li had finished her food and was watching her friends quietly. They may have been joking around, but their situation was serious. She wasn't sure whether they knew about Cho's threat or not. _Probably not_, Li thought. _Or I don't think they would be this relaxed _The others ate their food quickly, then Amber injected her morning dose of insulin while the others sat in silence.

Alexopened and closed his mouth.

'Wish they had of brought us some water. I'm parched.' The others nodded their agreement, then Hex leapt up, ran to the door and started to yell at the top of his voice.

'CAN WE HAVE SOME WATER, PLEASE?' he hollered. Immediately, four guards came running. Hex stepped back from the door while they unlocked it, pleased that the service was so quick. The guards got the door unlocked and stormed inside. One of them grabbed Hex and held his arms behind his back while a second punched him in the stomach. The pain was intense. It made Hex gasp and he tried to double over but the guard was still holding his arms and forced him to remain upright. The guard punched him again. Someone was screaming. It sounded like Amber. Then Hex felt his arms released and he crashed to the floor. The remaining two guards kicked him before all four of them left.

Amber was the first to Hex's side. She pulled his head onto her lap and gently stroked his head while Paulo asked Hex various questions.

'How do you feel? Where does it hurt? Anything internal damaged?' Hex was fighting to stay conscious. It wasn't just the punches and kicks. As he had fallen to the floor, Hex had whacked his head hard on the concrete floor.

Amber was sobbing and Li was crying as well. She gave Amber a furious look.

'What sort of people are they?' she asked quietly. 'Who could do this to someone, unprovoked?' Amber gave a sniff and looked down at Hex.

'I don't know. But we're surrounded by them, with no way out.'


	9. Chapter 8

Hex had this weird feeling of light-headedness. His vision swam as his head hit the concrete floor. He barely felt the kicks delivered by the other two guards and he didn't register them leaving. Black edged across his vision and he struggled to stay awake. He felt Amber take his head and put it gently on her lap. He heard her and Li crying; Paulo asking questions and then talking quietly to Alex. Then his vision swam one last time and he felt himself slip out of consciousness.

The guards came back just two minutes after Hex lost consciousness. Amber was still sitting with his head in her lap, and she gave a cry when she spotted the four figures crossing the clearing towards their cell. Alex, Li and Paulo stood in front of Hex and Amber protectively. The guards grinned sadistically at the sight of Hex lying on the ground, then unlocked the door and beckoned them over. Alex, Paulo and Li stood their ground. The grin left the guards face and he stepped forward. With a lightening quick flick, he had grabbed Li and pinned her arms behind her back. A second guard beckoned to Alex and Paulo and they had no choice but to follow. The door clanged shut behind them and Amber and Hex were left alone in the cold cell.

* * *

Cho grinned and clasped his hands together on the wooden table in front of him. He turned to look at Li, who was sitting furtherest away from him, next to Paulo. 

'Hello again. Why don't you introduce me to your friends?' Li clamped her mouth shut. Cho sighed and unlaced his hands, putting them, palms down, on the desk. 'It will be so much more pleasant if I knew your names. I am Ling Cho, by the way.' He directed this last comment at Alex and Paulo. They didn't acknowledge it. When Cho still got no response, he stood up and shrugged. 'Well, I tried. If you don't want to be friends...' He had his back to them and they couldn't see his wicked grin.

Li couldn't control herself.

'Friends!? Friends!?' she shrieked. 'I wouldn't be friends with you if you paid me.' Paulo clapped a hand over her mouth and wrestled her back into her seat.

'He is trying to get at you,' Paulo hissed in Li's ear. 'Do not give him the satisfaction.' Cho smiled at Li.

'I'm glad that we had this chance to chat,' Cho said as he made is way to the door. 'Give my regards to the other two.' He strode out of the room with a satisfied smirk on his face. How he loved winding people up, especially the little one. She was especially fun to taunt.

Paulo took his hand off Li's arm and pushed his chair back. It gave a squeal and Alex winced.

'I hate that sound. Oh. And fingernails down a chalkboard.' He shuddered. Paulo gave him a small smile. _Good try_, the smile said. Alex shrugged. He thought that his attempt to take their minds off Cho had been feeble, but Li looked a bit more relaxed.

'Yeah. I also hate squeaky chalk down a chalkboard.' She made an imitation of the sound which had all of them covering their ears. Paulo laughed.

'Very good.'

A harsh cough made the three of them spin around. A guard was standing by the door, tapping his foot. Alex hurried across, closely followed by Li and Paulo. Now that their "meeting" with Cho was over, they could go back to their cell and check on Amber and Hex. Li found herself studying the guard leading them. Was he the one who had hit Hex? Or had he held onto him? They all looked the same.

A minute later, the small group reached the cell. The guard drew back the canvas and unlocked the door. Amber's frightened face greeted them. Hex had woken up, but he was still lying with his head on Amber's lap. His face was pale, but he didn't look too bad considering what had happened to him. Paulo moved across to Amber.

'How is the patient?' Amber gulped, then gingerly reached across to Hex's stomach. Holding onto the edge of his t-shirt, she edged back the material. Paulo's eyed almost popped out of his head. Li gasped and Alex stared. The guards must have kicked him incredibly hard. Already Hex's stomach was turning purple and black. Hex groaned and Amber hurriedly let go of the t-shirt.

'Is he going to be ok?' Amber whispered to Paulo. Paulo saw the look of utter concern in her eyes and he stifled a triumphant grin. He was now even surer that Amber had feelings for Hex. Over their past few missions, he had slowly slid piece of the jigsaw into place and now he was almost done. Paulo shook his head and turned his attention back to Amber, who was watching him with growing panic. Amber had obviously interpreted his moments silence as bad news and Paulo decided to put her mind to rest.

'He will be fine. It will hurt, but nothing appears to be damaged internally.' Amber breathed out a sigh of relief, then reached out and squeezed Hex's hand.

'You hear that, Hex. You're gonna be fine.' Hex tilted his head so he was looking at Amber and smiled back.

'I will if Paulo's looking after me. Now you. You I'm not to sure about.' Amber flicked his ear then looked up at Li who was watching them with an amused expression on her face.

'What?' Li grinned. 'What?' Amber felt panic rising again. _Oh no. Li's on to me. _With an angry glare, she gently slid out from underneath Hex's head, stood up and went over to Alex, who was sitting in the corner of the room. Li caught Hex's expression of surprise and- Li stifled another grin- disappointment, before he quickly made his face unreadable. Paulo bundled up one of the blankets that the guards had so kindly provided them with, and pushed it under Hex's head. He settled down beside his friend to discuss things.

Amber was fuming. Bloody Li. She was so perceptive. Amber would have to be careful now. _Gotta keep my guard up, _Amber thought as she sat down next to Alex.

'So why were you guys whisked off so suddenly? Our captor wanted to greet you formally and invite you to dinner?' To her surprise, Alex nodded.

'Something like that.' He looked up at Amber and she was surprised to see desperation in his grey eyes. This wasn't right. Alex was the strong one of the group. The leader. The survival expert. Had he given up hope?

'What do you mean "something like that?" she questioned. Alex sighed.

'Mr Ling Cho-' He broke off at Amber's puzzled look. 'The guy who kidnapped us.' Amber nodded. 'He wanted to say hi. Tell us what a privilege it was to meet us.' Amber's jaw dropped.

'What is he? A maniac?' Alex nodded and sighed again.

'He just seems so confident. It's like he knows that there's no possibility of us escaping. He's holding all the cards and he's going to milk it for all it's worth.' Alex's voice was dull. It sounded like he had given up hope. Amber squeezed his shoulder.

'It'll be ok, Alex. We'll get out.' Alex gave a bitter laugh.

'How? Amber, they're all armed and won't hesitate in killing us if we put a foot wrong. You saw what they did to Hex. All he was doing was shouting out for water. What'll they do if we try to escape? Shoot us. We're on the top of a mountain. All cleared. They only was down is by helicopter or climbing. Both going to attract attention. We're stuck here, Amber. Stuck until someone realises that we're missing and figures out where we are. Number one is possible. Number two... Well. My hopes aren't too high.'

Amber stared at Alex in shock. He _had _given up. Instead of feeling sympathetic, Amber felt angry. She glared at Alex's bowed head, then grabbed the back of his t-shirt and pulled his head up. Alex was taken by surprise and stared at Amber. Her brown eyes flashed with anger. Li, Paulo and Hex all watched warily. When Amber was mad...

'How dare you, Alex! How dare you say that we're not going to escape! Of course we're not if you go around thinking like that. What about when we all first met? We were stranded but we got off ok. The pirates had guns.' Alex opened his mouth to remind Amber about the helicopter, but clamped it shut when Amber glared at him. 'I'm not done yet. And what about when we were in Quito? With the Rat-catcher? We escaped from him and he was using dogs. And when Li got captured by the Scorpion last time we were all together. We got her and the other kids out safely.' Amber paused to study Alex's face. _Good,_ she thought. _Let him feel bad._ 'And Alex. We've helped people out each time we've been captured. That's what Alpha Force is about. Remember, Alex? It hasn't all been in vain. And this time we're going to stop the baby-trafficking. Ok? We will get out. I know we will.' Amber looked down at her hands. Now that she had finished her monologue, it all seemed so ridiculous. It was like she was campaigning for the army. She was surprised when she felt Alex's arms around her. He gave her a quick hug, then gave and embarrassed smile.

'Sorry. I just... I don't know.' Amber smiled back and shook her head.

'Doesn't matter. I shouldn't have lost it like that either.' Paulo gave a cheer from his position beside Hex.

'Yah! Go Amber! You tell him.' Amber shot him a withering look.

'Bit late Paulo. We've just apologised for loosing it.' Paulo gave a grin anyway and turned back to Hex. Li had been sitting on the ground, studying her friends. Amber looked at her in wonder. Getting to her feet, she walked over to where Li was siting and crouched in front of her friend.

'Earth to Li. Earth to Li.' She waved her hand in front of Li's face, just centimetres from her nose. Li jerked upwards and grinned at Amber. _Bugger. _Amber cringed inwardly. _Now she's going to make some smart comment about me and Hex. _But to Amber's surprise-and relief- Li directed her comment to the whole group. And it wasn't anything to do with Amber or Hex.

'Guys. I know this sounds crazy, but I have a plan.'


	10. Chapter 9

Amber, sitting about two inches from Li's nose, shifted back so she could her friend's entire face. Li was right. It did sound crazy. Even though Amber had just yelled at Alex for giving up, Amber had just about lost hope too. But pushing its way to the surface, jostling past her wariness at Li's plan, was excitement. And relief. Li obviously wasn't going to press her hunch about Amber and Hex.

Li spotted the look of relief cross Amber's face and she decided to push that relief back down. With a sly grin, she winked at Amber, then looked across at Hex. Amber stuck her tongue out at Li and quickly asked her about her plan.

'So Li. What's this crazy idea you have? You gonna share it, or do we have to beat it out of you?' Li decided to let Amber be for the moment. She would talk to her about Hex later, but for now Li switched off her grin and put a serious expression on her face.

'Right. Group huddle.' Alex, Amber and Li shuffled over to Paulo and Hex, Amber sitting as far away from Hex as possible.

'So Li. What's the plan?' Alex was getting excited. Amber was right. There was no hope for escape if they didn't think they would outwit their captors. Li's announcement of a plan had given him that little spark of hope and now it was burning furiously, spreading rapidly to every corner of his brain. 'Come on. Tell us.' Li licked her lips, determined to build the suspense. Her four friends stared at her. Paulo broke the expectant silence. He grabbed Li around the waist and pushed her to the floor. He put his hands on her shoulders and cocked his head to one side.

'Amber may be right. I think we will have to beat it out of her.' Li could have easily wriggled out of Paulo's grasp, but she was laughing too hard. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she looked at her friends' faces. Amber shoved her way in beside Paulo and started to tickle Li.

'Ok, ok! Stop! I'll tell you! AMBER!' Amber and Paulo sat back with satisfied smiles and Li staggered to her feet. 'Just let me get my breath back.' Amber made a move towards Li and she stepped out of the way.

'Li,' Amber said impatiently. 'We're waiting.'

After a few more deep breaths, Li sat back down next to Paulo. The grin had left her face again and she was all business.

'Alex gave me the idea. We have only two options to escape. Heli or abseil. If we abseil down, then we have a further two options. We take a car or we go on foot. From there is another two options. We try to go straight back to town and warn the authorities or we go in completely the opposite direction to throw them off our trail.' Alex's hope had died again.

'That's the plan,' he asked. Li shook her head.

'No. That was the options. This is the plan. We can't go in the helicopter because none of us know how to operate one, and it's right in the middle of a clearing, with about ten guards wandering about. So we have to abseil down the cliff. To try and escape on foot, at least at the beginning, is pointless. They'll take the vehicles and catch us up pretty quickly. So we have to take the cars. As for the go to town or on a ramble. I have absolutely no clue, but I guess we can decide when we need to.' Hex was looking paler.

'So we abseil down the cliff in front of all the guards, wave to them while Paulo hotwires the car and then zoom off. I don't think they're going to stand around and watch us. Shoot us, yes. Stare at us dumbly with their guns slung casually on their backs, no.' Alex nodded.

'Besides, we haven't got any gear to abseil with.'

'But they do,' Li said quietly. Paulo and Amber gaped at her.

'So we steal their stuff _then _escape. Good plan Li. That will be even less inconspicuous,' Amber muttered. Li glared at her.

'Yeah? Well, I don't see you coming up with anything better, Amber. At least I'm trying.' Amber opened her mouth to comment back, but Paulo placed a hand over her and Li's mouths.

'No fighting. We are a team. We do not fight. We discuss problems and find solutions in a calm manner.' Alex stifled a grin. Paulo looked ridiculous. He had an utterly calm look on his face even though he was sitting between Li and Amber who both had furious looks on their faces and were leaning towards each other, pushing against Paulo's hand.

Li slumped back and pulled Paulo's hand away from her mouth.

'Yuck, Paulo. Wash you hands next time.' Amber leapt back like she'd been stung and wiped frantically at her mouth with the back of her hand.

'Gross!' Paulo shrugged and wiped his hands on his jeans.

'Don't fight,' he said. Amber gave Li an apologetic smile.

'Sorry. I'm not that good at keeping my cool am I?' Li smiled back.

'My fault as well.' Hex waved from his position on the floor.

'Hello? Guys? A plan?' He shot a questioning glance at Li. 'You got any other hidden details you wish to let us know about?'

'I guess we could distract them somehow, then make a run for it.' Alpha Force lapsed into silence as they each thought about the plan. It was the only way of escaping and could possibly be carried out if all went to plan. But they were in the company of dangerous criminals and, as Alpha Force knew all too well, they didn't always play by the rules.

The swish of canvas being drawn back made them all turn around. The same unsmiling Chinese woman that had shown them to their cell and given them breakfast, looked in at them. She unlocked the door and pushed plastic bowls into the cell. As the strange fragrance hit them, Alpha Force realised how hungry they were. The food appeared to be the same as breakfast, but they were so hungry that this time no one cared. Just as they were finishing the meal, the Chinese woman came back. She chucked a small bag and a bucket through the door way, then left.

Alex seized the bag and opened it. Inside were two bottles of water, five plastic cups, some weird smelling cream for bruises and a box of painkillers. Hex stretched his hands out towards the painkillers and gave a whoop of delight. Paulo poured Hex a cup of water and gave him two painkillers. Hex swallowed them gratefully. Paulo inspected the bottle of ointment.

'I will wait for the painkillers to start working before putting this on your bruises, Hex,' Paulo said as he placed the jar next to his friend's head. Hex nodded and sank back so his head was resting on the blanket again. Amber was staring at the bucket with a puzzled look on her face.

'What's this for?' she asked. Hex grinned and then winced as his head thumped with pain. The painkillers weren't working just yet.

'That, Amber, is out toilet.' Amber look at the bucket with horror, then slipped cautiously away from it. Hex laughed, despite his discomfort. The look on her face...

Li was sitting by the door, her head pressed against the wall. She had been like that for a few minutes, so Alex went across to her.

'What-' Li swung her head around to face him. Li placed a finger to her lips and then pressed her ear to the wall again. Alex kept quiet and he finally heard what Li was listening to; a murmur of voices speaking in some foreign language. _Chinese probably_, Alex thought. _Since they are Chinese that'd be likely._ The voices got fainter and Li sat back, a happy smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

'Hey guys. Guess what. We have just been given a ticket out of here.' Four shocked faces stared at her like she had grown three extra heads. 'Those dumbos were talking by our door. I will reveal all as soon as I get some water. I'm very thirsty.' Amber, Hex, Paulo and Alex watched impatiently as Li gulped down two glasses of water. She set the cup back down and turned towards her friends.

'Now. No one is to comment until I'm done and no overreacting. Or I won't tell you.' Her friends nodded their agreement and Li leaned forward. 'Ok. This is what we're going to do.'

**A/N Hi guys! I hope that you're enjoying my story and just wanted to thank every one who has reviewed. I really appreciate all of the helpful hints, ideas or just that encouraging comment. As I have quite a busy week coming up, I don't know whether I will be able to update for a while but I shall see. Thank again and keep those reviews coming!**


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N I know I said I had a busy week but I had an idea and had to act on it. When I got started I just kept writing and, as a result, I now have chapter 10 up (11 if you're counting the prologue). Have a read and see how you like it. This chapter isn't so much action. Quite a bit of dialogue though but next chapter should have a bit more action. This story seems to be coming to an end. There will probably be a few more chapters but if anyone has any ideas to make it longer or any events that you want to have happen to them, please review and tell me! I love feedback and suck it up like a vacuum. **

'We have to wait until tomorrow night. They are planning on having a little party to celebrate the recent success; a whole load of babies just got shipped out. Apparently everyone's going to be there except for us.' Li pouted. 'We have to sit in this cold cell while they party. Is that unfair or what?' Paulo gave an exasperated sigh and put his head in his hands.

'Li. Can you focus for once in your life?' Li grinned and patted him on the shoulder.

'Sure thing buddy. I propose that we pick the lock and get out then. On our way back from chatting with Mr Cho, I saw a guard go into a shed across from our cell. There was some ropes and stuff in there so I guess that's where we can get our climbing gear from. Amber and I can get that while you two-' she pointed to Paulo and Alex, 'can get that lump of human to the cliff.' Hex looked insulted and Li laughed. 'Well your not much use are you, Hex?'

'So once we have the gear and are down the cliff, what do we do?' Amber asked.

'Paulo can hotwire a car and we'll be off.' Alex frowned.

'Won't they hear?' Li shook her head.

'If they're partying hard enough they shouldn't.'

Alpha Force sat in silence for a moment, glad to have a plan, then Paulo sat up and seized the jar of ointment.

'Righto Hex. Let me at your bruises.' He pulled his friend's t-shirt back and unscrewed the lid of the jar. A hideous smell filled the room. It smelt as if something had lived in the container for quite a few years before dieing in there. Amber retched and shuffled away. Hex looked horrified.

'No way am I having that on me!' he protested loudly. Alex and Li had their fingers clamped over their noses and had retreated to the far corner of the room along with Amber. Paulo was the only one who didn't seem affected by the smell. Li shook her head, an amused expression on her face.

'Trust him. Disgusting to everyone else, roses to Paulo.'

Taking hold of one of the discarded chopsticks, Paulo stirred the concoction with a serene expression. Eventually the smell left the room and the others moved back to Paulo and Hex. The ointment had lost almost all of its smell and they all peered down at the white, pasty mixture.

'What is _in_ that? Anyone know?' Amber asked. Four heads shook and she sighed. 'I don't really want to know anyway. Just curious.' Paulo smeared the stuff over Hex's stomach, then left the t-shirt folded up over his chest while the mixture soaked in.

'Um. Guys? Don't mean to be a pain, but this is kinda freaking me out,' Hex said as Paulo, Alex, Li and Amber stared at his stomach. 'Why don't you go do something?'

'What's there to do?' Alex asked.

'Sleep?' With Hex's comment, Alpha Force got ready for bed. The bucket was in the corner of the room and everyone used it, even Amber, though she did so reluctantly.

With only two blankets, they five friends had to huddle together on the floor. Thankfully their captors had provided them with a rug to lie on instead of the concrete floor. Amber lay down as far as possible from Hex given the limited space, but after all of the jostling and trying to get comfortable, she found herself lying next to him. Stifling a groan, Amber lay with her back to Hex and found herself staring into Li's eyes. The Anglo-Chinese girl gave a wicked grin and blew Amber a kiss. Amber's eyes narrowed and she sat up.

'Hey Paulo. Wanna swap spots?' Paulo was lying next to Li and he shook his head immediately.

'No thank you. I am quite comfortable right here.' He smiled at Li's back and Amber turned to Alex.

'Can I swap with you Alex?' Alex was sleeping on the other side of Hex, but at least Amber wouldn't have to put up with Li's mischievous grins and nudges. Alex shrugged.

'Why do you want to swap?'

'Can't stand her,' Amber replied jerking a thumb behind her in Li's direction. Alex got up and he and Amber traded spots.

As soon as she lay down, Amber regretted changing spots with Alex. She was on the edge of the rug and had to lay even closer to Hex to stay on the material. Hex turned his head in Amber's direction.

'You ok? Do you want me to move over?' Amber craned her neck over his body to see how the space situation was on the other half of the rug, then shook her head.

'It's ok. They don't have much room.' She lay there in the dark, feeling the cold air on one side of her and the warmth of Hex on the other. She could see why Alex had been so keen to move. Amber eventually drifted off to sleep, thoughts turning over in her head.

* * *

Hex woke up in first. The painkillers had worn off and he felt awful. Every inch of his body ached and his head thumped in time with his heart. He moved his head to get into a more comfortable position as it was still dark and he wanted to try and get a few more hours sleep. His head touched the top of Amber's head and he quickly flipped it back. He suddenly became aware of how close he was to her. Paulo, Li and Alex had gradually pushed him over and Amber had been forced closer to him as a result of trying to stay on the rug. She was huddled in a ball, pressed to his side and looked incredibly vulnerable. He slipped his arm out from between the two of them and shook it in the air a few times to get the feeling back. Amber shuffled closer to him and he couldn't get his back down next to hi side. He slipped his arm around Amber and held her close as he drifted back into sleep, headache and bruises forgotten.

* * *

When Amber woke up, the sun was just starting to peak its head up. With a yawn, she tried to shift her position but found it impossible. _What the...?_ she thought, suddenly aware of Hex's arm around her. Amber wriggled in the cramped space and used her other hand to push Hex's arm away from her. Just as she was about to get up, Li's face popped up in front of her. Amber gave a startled squeak, then relaxed as she saw who it was. Li gave a grin and waggled her eyebrows at Amber and she felt her split section relaxation fade.

Li helped Amber up and pulled her to the opposite corner of the room. After pushing Amber into a corner, Li sat down in front of her friend, her feet pressed over Amber's so she couldn't escape.

'What do you want Li?' Amber grumbled.

'To talk,' Li replied cheerfully.

'What if I don't want to talk to you?'

'I'll make you.' Amber gave a frustrated sigh and gave in.

'Fine. What do you want to talk to me about,' Amber said. She had a bad feeling about the way this conversation was going.

'Oh, you know. Nothing in particular. Just stuff.'

'Go on Li. Ask me. I know your dieing to.' Amber gave Li a scowl and Li feigned innocence.

'Ask you about what?' Amber hit her hand against her forehead. She stared at Li. When her friend didn't say anything, Amber pushed Li's knees and tried to stand up.

'Wait. I'll ask.' Li paused for a moment and lost her cheerful, bouncy look. Instead she had a curious, interested expression on her face. 'So... Just out of casual interest, what's going on between you and Hex?' Amber went to glare at Li, but checked herself just in time. _Better to keep poker-faced_, Amber told herself. _Then I won't give anything away._

'What do you mean?' she asked.

'Oh come off it Amber. I saw you two in the truck. And what about when Hex got hurt?' She was about to say more when Amber cut her off.

'I would have reacted the same way of it was you or Paulo or Alex.' Li shrugged and studied Amber's face carefully. _She's good. Not giving anything away yet, but I can make her break. _Her goal set, Li pressed the issue harder.

'But what about the truck. You were clinging to him like a barnacle on a boat and he wasn't exactly pushing you away.' It was Amber's turn to shrug. _Woops. I thought she was asleep._

'So? Like I said before. I would have been a blubbering mess and clung to anyone who came along. Hex just happened to be closest.'

'So what you're saying is that you don't think of Hex as anything more than a really good friend? That you think of him the same as you think of me, Paulo and Alex?' Amber smirked.

'Alex and Paulo yeah. You.' She gave a short burst of laughter. 'At the moment you're way down my list of favourite people. You're just above Ling Cho right now.' Li wasn't put off.

'Just because I'm making you face the facts Amber doesn't mean you have to be mean.' Amber was getting frustrated. She had been holding it together pretty well so far, but she knew that she would give the game away if she was pushed much longer.

'What facts? Li. Do you want me to spell it out? I-don't-think-of-Hex-in-that-sort-of-way. Clear enough for you or do I have to say it again.' Li shook her head.

'Clear.' Amber sighed inwardly. _Saved! _

'Can I go?' Li nodded and sat back off Amber's toes. The ebony skinned girl bounded off to the backpack to get a drink of water. Li smiled. While Amber hadn't admitted it- Li hadn't expected her to- she had finally cracked in the end. It wasn't much, but Li had seen a faint flicker in Amber's eyes and knew she was lying. _Now I just have to get her to admit it._ Li rubbed her hands. She loved a challenge and getting Amber to admit something like that was as big a challenge as they come.

* * *

Hex lay on the blanket. He had woken up when Amber shifted his arm and now lay with his eyes closed as he listened to Li and Amber chatting in the corner. Amber's voice rose as she replied to a comment Li had made and Hex immediately gave the conversation his full attention.

'Go on Li. Ask me. I know your dieing to.' Amber's voice was tinged with annoyance.

'Ask you about what?' There was a dull slapping sound like someone hitting flesh with flesh then a pause. 'Wait. I'll ask.' There was another pause then Li spoke again. 'So... Just out of casual interest, what's going on between you and Hex?' Hex held his breath and waited for Amber's response.

'What do you mean?' Hex strained his ears to hear but the next part of the conversation was too quiet. Then Amber's voice rose.

'What facts? Li. Do you want me to spell it out? I-don't-think-of-Hex-in-that-sort-of-way. Clear enough for you or do I have to say it again.' Hex gave a sigh and felt his shoulders drop. He let out of breath that he hadn't even realised he was holding and felt a wave of disappointment wash over him. When they had been captured and in the truck and when he had got hurt... Just for a moment he had thought that maybe Amber did feel the same way towards him that he felt towards her. But that didn't appear to be correct. Hex was just glad that he had kept his mouth shut and not blurted anything out. He heard Li get up and Amber rush to the backpack. Li walked past and peered at Hex's face. He kept his eyes shut and deep breathed so she thought he was still asleep. Li seemed satisfied because she nudged him with her foot.

'Hex. Hex. Wake up.' Hex feigned sleep for a few more moments then sat up and rubbed his eyes.

'It's barely light Li. What is so important that you had to wake me up this early?' Li thought about telling Hex her assumptions about Amber but decided against it when she saw Amber watching them carefully.

'Just thought you'd want some more painkillers, that's all.' Hex suddenly realised how much his head hurt. He nodded gratefully then pressed a hand to his forehead as pain blossomed behind his eyes. Li skipped over to the backpack and fished out the painkillers, ointment jar, a cup and the half filled bottle of water. On her way back to Hex, Li poured some of the water over Paulo. He spluttered and snapped awake.

'Li!' he growled. 'What is it with people waking me up in the most horrible ways?' Li laughed and Paulo gave her a smile to show that he hadn't really meant his words.

'Your patient needs some treatment.' Paulo happily seized the bottle and rubbed some of the contents onto Hex's bruises. Li gaped at his stomach.

'What? What's wrong,' Hex said worriedly as he tried to see what had made Li look like that.

'This is some good stuff.' While the bruises weren't completely gone, they hadn't got any worse and could have possibly gone down overnight.

'What is in this?' Li murmured as she peered at the container, hoping to find an ingredients label somewhere.

'I don't care as long as it gets rid of the bruises. I don't know how I'm going to explain them to my family or my sport teacher when I go home otherwise,' Hex remarked.

Alex sat up as their breakfast was delivered. The same mushy meat and rice and two more bottles of water. Amber was given the bucket and escorted outside to empty it, much to her disgust. The rest of the day passed by slowly. Li was a bundle of energy, literally bouncing off the walls. Alex sat quietly while Hex slept almost the entire day. Paulo looked after Hex and watched Li perform various acrobatic displays. Amber kept to herself but her thoughts weren't on what Alpha Force would be attempting that night. She was thinking about her conversation with Li and wondering whether she had said the right thing. Li's face had looked triumphant, not frustrated when she had let Amber go. Had she said something or let an emotion show on her face. Amber hoped not or Li would follow it up and she would get no peace.

* * *

Finally the festivities began and Alpha Force could put their plan into action. Paulo picked the lock with the metal handle of the bucket, then the two groups split up. Amber and Li headed off towards the storage shed while Alex and Paulo carried Hex to the most remote part of the cliff. It was behind their cell and shouldn't be able to be seen from the main building where everyone had gathered.

The three boys soon reached the cliff and sat huddled on the ground. Paulo and Hex were casting worried glances towards the storage shed and Alex tried to sooth them.

'They're fine. We have to get the climbing gear, then we're off. Everyone's in the main building. That's how sure they are that we won't escape. Li probably just taking her time, trying to find the best gear.' Paulo nodded and Hex stayed silent. Despite his calm words, Alex felt a rush of worry. The storage shed was in view of the main building. _Come on_, he thought. All three of them sat in the darkness, waiting for two shadowy figures to come out of the storage shed.

When Li and Amber hadn't emerged five minutes later, Paulo stood up.

'I will go see if they are ok.' Alex nodded, then watched Paulo slip away into the night. Alex couldn't help but worry. What if they got captured? This plan had as many holes as a colander and three of his friends were in potential danger. Alex stuck his head in his hands and waited.


	12. Chapter 11

**Forgive me for skimming over the technical details of abseiling and I apologise if any bits of it are inaccurate. Just close your eyes and imagine but that could be a bit hard as you have to read the text. Keep your eyes open and imagine.**

Paulo crept across the ground, feeling terribly exposed. His eyes darted left and right, trying to spot any hidden dangers as he hurried towards the shed. Opening the door, he flinched, expecting the worst. Suddenly he was hurtling sideways and being placed in a headlock on the floor.

'Li,' Paulo gasped. 'Get off me.'

'Paulo?' Li hurriedly let him go then offered her hand and helped him to his feet. 'Sorry about that.' Paulo dusted himself off and peered around the room.

'Where's Amber?' Li tilted her head to the side of the room. As Paulo's eyes adjusted to the dim light, he could just make out a shadowy figure standing by a box. With her dark skin, Amber just about disappeared in the shadows. She beamed at him.

'We can handle this Paulo.'

'You have been gone for ages. We got worried then I came to look for you-'

'And got hammered by Li,' Amber finished Paulo's sentence with a chuckle. Paulo gave her a dazzling smile and nodded good humouredly.

'We should be going. Alex and Hex were getting worried.' Li gave a sly smile then hoisted a coil of rope over her shoulder.

'Well? What are we waiting for? Can't keep the invalid and his nurse waiting.'

After checking that the outside was clear, Li scurried over towards the cliff with Paulo and Amber trailing behind her. With a relieved look on his face, Alex checked over the gear that they had got. There were five helmets, five pairs of gloves, four harnesses and rope. Luckily each member of Alpha Force was wearing their sturdy boots so footwear wouldn't be a problem. They quickly got into their harnesses. Hex frowned when he realised that they were one harness short.

'I knew one of us should have gone with Amber and Li.' His friends looked at him in surprise. He held up his harness. 'They can't count. There's five of us and only four harnesses.' Li tutted as she fixed the rope up and helped Paulo with his harness.

'Silly Hex. I'm going to free climb down so that they can't follow quickly and the rope won't attract attention when they go back on patrol later.' Paulo looked worried.

'I am sure it would be ok to leave the rope there, Li.' Li shook her head.

'No. We can't take any chances. We have to be as far away as possible before they realise that we're missing.' Paulo still had a worried look on his face as he watched Li help the others with their harnesses. He remembered all too clearly when they had all been stranded on the island. Li had free climbed down a cliff after chucking down the ropes that the others had used so that the pirates couldn't follow them. The pirates had appeared sooner than expected and taken shots at Li as she climbed down. Paulo shuddered and pushed the memory to the back of his mind. The sound of music floated towards him and he realised that this situation was entirely different. They were escaping in the dark while their captors were occupied. Li would be fine. He had complete faith in her abilities but Paulo still couldn't get rid of all of his worry.

Li's voice jerked him out of his thoughts.

'Ready to go, Paulo?' He looked around and saw that Alex had already descended the rope and Amber was about halfway down. Paulo nodded and then looked over at Hex.

'What about you?' he asked his friend. Hex looked pale, but he was sitting up and had his harness on, a determined glint in his green eyes.

'I'm abseiling down,' he told Paulo firmly. Li clipped the rope to Paulo's harness and soon he was abseiling down the cliff. Paulo couldn't suppress an excited grin as his feet touched the ground. They were going to make it! Just Hex and Li to go and they could make their getaway. Paulo looked around as he unclipped the rope from his harness.

'Where are the cars?' he asked Alex, puzzled. It was Amber who answered.

'We picked the spot of cliff furtherest away from the main building. The cars are just around the corner.' Amber indicated with a flick of her hand. She was watching Hex's slow progress down the cliff with a frown. He shouldn't be abseiling with such a bruised stomach. But then again, Hex was stubborn and no one would have been able to talk him out of it.

There was a small ledge about five metres up the cliff. When Hex reached the ledge he sank gratefully onto it. His stomach and ribs ached and he was finding it difficult to breath. Paulo had given him painkillers before they set off and rubbed some more of the magic ointment on his stomach, but the harness wasn't making it any better.

Li peered over the edge of the cliff. Hex was slumped on the ledge and she groaned. _He shouldn't have abseiled,_ Li thought. Now what were they going to do. There was only five metres or so to the bottom but Hex needed help to get down that last bit. Li couldn't go to him as she had to hold on to the rope at the top. All she could do was stand there and hope Hex found the extra strength to finish.

Amber made a split second decision. The ledge wasn't far up and she decided to give it a go. Li had tutored her in the basics of free climbing and she had taken a few lessons back home, but she was by no means and expert. But Hex was obviously in pain and Amber pulled off her gloves and boots and started to climb.

Paulo watched in astonishment as Amber carefully climbed up the rock wall. It was perfect for free climbing; there were loads of hand and foot holds spaced all over the place. Alex looked on with equal amazement. While Amber didn't float up the wall as Li did, she moved gracefully and didn't slip. In no time at all, she was pulling herself up onto the ledge. Amber shuffled closer to Hex and put a hand on his arm.

'Are you alright?' Hex gave a slight shake of his head but kept his face turned to the cliff. 'Is it your stomach?' Hex nodded but he turned to look at her now. Amber was shocked by the look of absolute fear and pain in his eyes. Amber squeezed his shoulder and tried to comfort him.

'We're going to go down now, ok? Li has to come down yet and we don't know when the party will be wrapping up.' Hex nodded then gave a shaky breath and lowered himself off the ledge.

'I think I'd better climb down. It won't hurt as much.' Amber nodded and signalled up to Li. Amber matched Hex's slow pace down the cliff, encouraging him all the way. While Amber knew that this would give Li fresh fuel to add to the fire, Amber didn't care. All that mattered was that Hex got down ok.

When they reached the bottom, Paulo signalled to Li that she could come down and Alex and Amber helped Hex over to a rock. He sat down gratefully. They watched as the rope dropped down the cliff, followed by Li's boots and gloves. Amber followed Li's every move. Compared to her friend, Amber must have looked like an elephant. Hex saw the look on her face and squeezed her hand.

'Thanks. You're not that bad at free climbing.' Amber shrugged and avoided Hex's eyes.

'I've had a few lessons and Li's shown me some tricks of the trade. I've got a long way to go before I'm as good as Li though.' There was an awkward pause.

'Amber-' Before Hex could finish, Li bounced over to them and tugged at Amber's arm.

'Come on. We're going to be the scouts.' She hurried away dragging Amber along behind her. Hex pushed down his frustration and took Paulo's offered arm. Alex supported him on his other side and gave him an amused look.

'What?' Alex laughed and looked at Paulo, who started laughing too. Hex scowled and ignored his two friends.

The cars were right where Amber had said they'd be. Frowning with concentration, Paulo carefully scrutinized each vehicle before deciding on a familiar looking truck.

'Paulo is that the car we...' He nodded and flipped down the sun visor to check for the car keys. Li suppressed a giggle as Paulo found the keys.

'It's good to see you learnt from your mistake, Paulo,' Li said. Paulo grinned at her. On their last mission, Paulo hotwired a car so that Alpha Force and the rescued child slaves could escape from the Scorpion. Only afterwards did he find the car keys hidden in the turned up sun visor.

'Such a shame though. Now I cannot have any fun.'

Amber tilted her head and looked at the jeep-like vehicle.

'Are you sure we aren't better taking another car?' she asked Paulo.

'This one will be the best if we have to go off road.' Hex gave a startled squeak and widened his eyes.

'Off road?' he repeated. When Paulo nodded, Hex groaned and rubbed his stomach. Amber was looking equally shaky.

'Paulo. Just in case you haven't noticed, we are on a mountain. The only "off road" you're going to be able to get is if we drive straight off the bloody edge!' Paulo smiled at her.

'All the more fun.' It was Amber turn to groan and sit down shakily.

Alex was looking at the seating arrangements. Paulo would drive and Hex would be best off sitting next to him. That left one more seat. Paulo seemed to guess what Alex was thinking.

'Who wants to ride in the cab with me and Hex?' Li stuck up Alex's arm.

'Me! Me! Pick me!' she whined. Alex gave her a withering look and pulled his arm away.

'Ok then. Since Alex is so eager...' The seating arrangements worked out, the three boys climbed into the cab while Amber and Li scrambled into the back. Amber felt nausea over welm her and she sat down on one of the benches. Li obviously didn't see her friend's expression, because she gave a grin.

'Pity Hex isn't here to-' she cut off as Amber glared at her, her brown eyes like daggers.

'Just leave it, Li.' Li backed off quickly, aware that Amber wasn't in the mood for jokes.

'Sorry.' She sat down next to Amber and rubbed her back. 'What's wrong?' Amber had tears in her eyes.

'Nothing. I'm relieved, that's all. You know. We're going to escape...' Li studied the back of Amber's head. _She's lying_, she thought. _Something's bothering her and I think I know what it is._ Li was about to ask Amber what was really bothering her, when the car engine roared into life. The two girls flattened themselves against the car wall, the hearts in their mouths. It sounded so loud. Paulo put the car into gear and they quickly drove off. Amber tensed, expecting bullets to slam into the car but nothing happened. She gave Li a delighted smile. They were going to make it.

* * *

Ling Cho had gone outside for some fresh air. There were so many people inside and the air felt heavy and stale. A little walk was just what he needed. Over the loud music, Cho thought he heard a car engine. He frowned and stopped. The music stopped for a second as the song changed to a different one, but a second was all that he needed. Straining his ears, Cho nodded. Definitely a car engine. Cho was puzzled for a second, then felt his mouth go dry. He ran to the prisoner cell and stopped dead. The padlock was open and the door was slightly ajar. His prisoners had escaped. _How is this possible?_ Cho thought as he yelled for his guards. _They must be somewhere up on the top here. They couldn't have climbed down the cliff._ Cho stopped again. These weren't any ordering teenagers. No normal teenagers would try to take on a baby-trafficking organisation single-handedly. _Behind their cell._ Cho sprinted towards the cliff edge. Nothing here to say that they had climbed down. He peered over the edge and groaned. A harness lay discarded on the ground. _Great. Just great._ His guards piled in the helicopter with him and they flew down to where they had left the cars. The vehicle that had brought his prisoners up the mountain was missing. Barking orders, Cho grabbed his gun and jumped into the nearest car. The guard put the key in the ignition and the vehicle roared into life. The chase was on.

* * *

Paulo struggled to keep the car on the rough track. He was going as fast as he could but he was painfully aware of the headlights that had suddenly lit up the car park area at the top of the track. Their absence had been noticed. Paulo gritted his teeth and swore quietly. He had been hoping that they could have got a little further at least before Cho had come after them, but something must have alerted him that they were missing. Paulo turned his mind back to the job at hand and just concentrated on keeping the car steady. 

Amber and Li were clamped to the wooden seats, trying to stay upright. The unmistakable crack of a bullet being shot echoed around the mountainside and the two girls forgot about trying to keeps seated. They threw themselves flat on the floor.

'How did they know so soon?' Li asked.

'Must have heard the car start up,' Amber replied. The guns had stopped being fired, but Li and Amber still lay on the floor, holding onto each other.

'Come on Paulo,' Li whispered. 'You can do it.'

* * *

Alex, Hex and Paulo jumped as the gun fired. Paulo swerved slightly but turned his mind back to steering. 

'Will Li and Amber be ok back there?' Hex asked. Alex nodded.

'Of course. They know what to do.' But, just like Hex, he couldn't help but feel worried as a picture of Amber and Li, filled with lead bullets, lying in the back of the jeep came into his head. A few more shots were fired, but it all seemed relatively quiet. Too quiet.

Suddenly there was an explosion bang and the car shuddered. Three more bangs followed and the car jerked to a stop. Alex didn't wait to find out what had made the bangs. He hurtled out of the car, dragging Hex with him. Paulo leapt out from the driver's side and they raced round the back of the vehicle. Headlights showed on the track above them. The guards had stopped the car and let them come close enough before shooting down at them.

Amber and Li's frightened faces peeked out from behind the canvas flaps. Alex grabbed Amber's arm and Li was grabbed by Paulo. Alpha Force ran away from the car, into the dense forest that bordered the track. Headlights came closer and guards piled out. They swung huge searchlights around, trying to pick up their escaped quarry.

Down in the forest, Alpha Force clung to each other behind a boulder. Amber was clutching Hex tightly and he had his arms wrapped around her, but she barely noticed. Bullets crashed through the trees as the guards shot blindly into the forest. Li whimpered and wriggled closer to Paulo. Alex was breathing heavily and trying to keep calm. Eventually the guards stopped firing and the searchlights swung away. For the next few minutes, the five friends sat in silence. All seemed quite but it could be a trap. Carefully, Alex poked his head just over the edge of the bolder. A light burned his retinas and a triumphant shout came from the track. Alex cursed. It _had_ been a trap. How could he have been so stupid.

Alpha Force ran, terror giving them speed. There were sounds of crashing as the guards followed them and peppered the forest with bullets. They put on a spurt and cleared the forest. The next section of lower track welcomed them. Far below, Alpha Force could see the city lights. It all looked so safe and cosy, but that had been where their major troubles had begun.

The crashing sounds were getting closer and Li could see headlights coming towards them on the track. A bullet whistled past her ear and slammed into a tree in front of her. She screamed and they were running once again. Only one thought was in their heads; get away.

**A/N Da da da. Oh no! What will happen? I wish I knew. Actually, I do have a bit of an idea but if anyone wants me to add something in I will do my best. I will try to update soon as I know how frustrating cliff-hangers can be! **


	13. Chapter 12

Hurtling through the trees, Hex struggled to stay with the group. His breath came in ragged gasps and his head and stomach ached. Amber dropped back and ran beside him.

'Come on, gadget boy!' she yelled. 'Keep going!' Hex stumbled and fell, landing with a thump on the sloped ground. Amber stopped and pulled him to his feet. Alex ran up to them and helped her support Hex. Alex gave Amber a worried look.

'He can't go much further,' he said. Hex glared at him.

'I'm still here you know,' he grumbled, but his voice sounded weak. Paulo and Li appeared and the five of them ran behind a huge boulder. The guards sounded like they were further up the hill and Alpha Force allowed themselves a brief break. Hex lay on the ground, his face twisted with pain. Amber sat beside him a worried look on her face. Paulo gave Hex two painkillers, and he swallowed them gratefully. The crashing sounds came closer and Alpha Force started to run again.

* * *

Amber bounded along, Hex by her side. He seemed to be coping ok and she turned her full attention to running. She didn't notice him slowly dropping back and the next time Alpha Force stopped, he was nowhere to be seen.

'Where is he?' Amber asked, peering through the trees. Alex came and stood next to her and they strained their eyes trying to catch a glimpse of Hex. There was a cluster of large and small rocks about 20 metres away from the boulder that Alpha Force was using to shelter behind and through the darkness they picked up a familiar figure near it. Alex sighed with relief and was about to run over and help his friend when a shout stopped him. Torches shone through the trees and Hex bolted into the rocks. It was no use though. The guards spotted him and surrounded the rocks. Amber gave a cry as Alex pulled her behind their boulder and she sat in shocked silence as they listened to the sounds of the guards. Maybe Hex had snuck out. Maybe he would... All of their hope died as the guards started to fire. Amber gave a sob and buried her face in Alex's chest as the listened to the bullets being fired. Alex held her close and tired to tune out, but the shots were so loud. Paulo was holding onto Li who looked furious and distraught at the same time and was trying to get free.

'Do not be stupid, Li,' Paulo hissed. Li's face turned angry for a second before she slumped in Paulo's grasp and began to cry.

They were vaguely aware of the shots subsiding and the guards moving away. The four remaining members of Alpha Force sat in stunned silence, shocked by what they had heard. Alex stood up and turned to Paulo.

'We should get moving.' Amber stared at them in shock, then started to make her way around the boulder. Paulo grabbed her arm and Amber tried to shake him off.

'Where are you going?' Amber had a desperate look on her face.

'Maybe he's alive,' she said, but she was doubtful. Alex shook his head.

'I'm sorry Amber but he couldn't be.' Amber tried to move off again but Paulo still had a grip on her arm.

'I want to make sure.' Alex shook his head and tried to reason with Amber.

'You don't want to...' With a scowl on her face and close to tears, Amber twisted out of Paulo's grip and sprinted towards the rocks where they had last seen Hex. Li, Paulo and Alex followed her.

As they arrived, Amber disappeared inside the cluster of boulders. Alex glanced around him warily, in case the guards were still about, but everything was quiet. The guards had obviously thought that they were further up the mountain. He didn't want to see what was inside the boulders but he forced himself to walk around. The huge pieces of rock formed a network of hiding places. A glimmer of hope sparked in Alex's brain but then quickly died as he saw the discarded bullets scattered over the ground and. There was no way that Hex could have survived after all of the bullets that had been shot at him.

Amber picked her way carefully around the boulders, checking every little cave that she came across expecting to see Hex's body lying in front of each one. She paused outside one cave. Li, Paulo and Alex were a bit further behind her and Amber wanted to wait for them to catch up before she went on. Tears still trickled down her face and she sniffed every now and then.

Suddenly something slammed into her body and she was grabbed and dragged into the cave. Amber gave a scream and wriggled.

'Let go!' Whatever had grabbed her stopped.

'Amber?' Amber stopped struggling and peered at the face in the dim light. Hex. Amber gave a sob and threw her arms around him, hugging him hard. Hex hugged her back, then, after hesitating for a moment, kissed the top of her head. Amber either didn't notice or didn't care because she just hugged him harder.

Li heard Amber's terrified scream and sprinted towards the sound. Paulo and Alex pelted after her and they all arrived at the cave at the same time. They peered inside, dreading what they might find, but were surprised to see Amber hugging someone. The someone bent their head and kissed the top of Amber's head lightly and they could all see who it was.

'Hex!' Li cried and hurried into the cave. Hex and Amber sprang apart and Li gave Hex a huge bear hug. Paulo and Alex followed and grinned at the sight of their friend, alive and unharmed.

'What the hell happened?' Alex got straight to the point. Hex held up his hand and shook his head.

'Wait a minute. Let's go get the supplies and bring them back here, then I can explain.' Despite his ordeal, Hex was determined to come with his friends to get the backpacks. Amber didn't leave his side for an instant. She still felt guilty about leaving him as they were running, even though he was safe.

* * *

Once all of the supplies were moved into the cave, Hex told his friends what had happened.

'I was running along and my stomach started to really hurt. I couldn't keep up and was dropping back so I stopped for a quick breather. Suddenly these five guards spotted me and started to chase me. I ran down to those boulders, deciding to hide in them until they went away, but I got this sharp pain here-' he gestured to his abdomen- 'and had to stop. I was so close but by the time I could move again, they had spotted me and knew that I was in the boulders. I scurried into a cave and wriggled along until I was right at the back. The guards aren't very good. They just shot blindly all over the place and hoped that they'd hit me. The bullets started to get to close to the cave where I was hiding so I wriggled back a bit more and found this narrow tunnel. It was stupid of me, I could have got stuck or trapped, but the tunnel eventually got wider and I ended up in here.' He waved his hand around to indicate the cave. 'The pains had come back again so I waited a bit. The guards had left, thinking that they must have hit me at least once, so I decided to make my way out and back to you guys. Next thing I know, there's this big shadow in the cave entrance. I tackled it and dragged it in here and then discovered it was Amber. Then you guys came and here we are.' Hex finished with a flourish. Li grinned cheekily.

You just missed out one bit Hex,' she said. Hex looked puzzled but Amber glared at Li, which made Li's grin bigger.

'What was that?' Hex asked. Amber groaned as Li sat up straight.

'You forget to mention you and Amber's little reunion.' Hex's face remained poker straight but Amber blushed.

'Well. Amber found me and I was just thankful that she wasn't one of the guards.' Li opened her mouth to reply- she wasn't finished teasing them yet- but Alex got in before her.

'We have to make a decision. Do we keep going or stay here and hope that they don't come back?' Paulo looked at Hex's drawn, pale face and shook his head.

'We stay. Hex cannot go further tonight.' Hex started to protest but Paulo was firm. 'You are no use to us if you are in pain or tired. All of us need to rest and have something to eat. We stay.' Everyone else agreed, glad of the chance to rest and recuperate.

* * *

Early the next morning, a weary group of five trudged through the now thinning forest. Alex stared at the city lights. They seemed so far away. And he knew that their battle wasn't over yet. Alpha Force hadn't accomplished their goal- to bring down the baby-trafficking ring- and they weren't going to give up that easily.

Finally the mountain smoothed out into gently sloping land and they glimpsed a black thread twisting its way along in the distance. Li grinned. A road. Finally. The road gave Alpha Force renewed energy and they hurried towards it. When they reach the tar, they walked along it until they saw headlights in the distance. Amber, walking beside Hex, gave a relieved sigh and waved her arms in the air. Suddenly she was pushed into the ditch of the road. Li gave a shriek as she was flung down beside her. The breath was knocked out of her as Paulo cannoned into her back. Alex and Hex dropped down beside her and signalled to her to keep quiet. What was going on? The headlights approached slowly and suddenly Amber realised. Why would a car be driving along at that slow a pace, on a road leading out to the mountains at this time of night? She buried her face in the ground as the headlights drew nearer. After what seemed like an age, they passed and disappeared around a bend further up the road. Alex stood up and grinned apologetically at Amber.

'Sorry about that,' he said. Amber shook her head.

'Don't worry. I think you just saved our bacon.'

It took another two hours to reach the city. The lights had looked deceptively close from up on the mountain and Hex was finding it difficult to keep up, but finally they stumbled around a corner and entered the outskirts of town. Hex gave a gasp of relief and sank to the ground. Amber shot Paulo a worried look and knelt down beside Hex.

'Are you ok?' she asked gently. Hex nodded and then grimaced with pain. Alex and Li had run up the street to find somewhere to stay and they returned triumphant.

'Two rooms at an unrated, run down hotel. Home sweet home.' Li shut up as soon as she saw Hex. His face was pale and sweat was beading on his forehead. 'But then again, it's better than nothing.' Paulo and Alex supported Hex between them and they walked over to the hotel that Li and Alex had booked them in to.

A small Chinese woman seemed incredibly pleased to see them. She shuffled out from behind her reception desk and handed them two keys. With a smile that stretched to her ears, she thanked them and bustled off.

'Mustn't get many visitors here,' Amber remarked. They climbed the rickety stairs, making as little sudden movements as possible in case the entire structure came tumbling down. Paulo and Alex said good night to Li and Amber and helped Hex into their room. Hex sank onto the bed gratefully, took two painkillers and shut his eyes. By the time Alex and Paulo had put away the backpacks, he was fast asleep.

**A/N Small question. Should I drag it out a bit more, such as have them look for evidence to convict Cho and maybe have one or two of them get caught? Or should I let them get evidence and end it there? Reviews very much appreciated!**


	14. Chapter 13

**Thank you guys for your feedback. I have made a decision; I will drag this story out for as long as I can, but it will probably only be a couple more chapters. Read on to find out what exciting things happen next...**

The Chinese woman delivered their breakfasts on silver trays that had so many dents in them it was amazing that the bowls stayed upright. Alpha Force all ate in the boys' room as it was the biggest and they had to discuss what they were going to do. Amber was settled on the bottom of Hex's bed, her back against the wall. Hex was sitting at the head end of the bed, Alex was sitting on his bed, Paulo was spread out on his and Li lounged on the floor. The trays of food sat next to the door, the bowls empty of their contents. Li decided to start the conversation.

'Right. We need to decide what we're going to do.' She looked around her, meeting each of her friends' eyes with a questioning look. 'Do we keep going and try to get some evidence or hand it over to the police?' Hex shook his head immediately.

'I have a feeling we should get the evidence,' he said quietly. 'Cho seems very powerful and sure of himself. He's probably got the entire police force corrupt.' Amber frowned.

'But what about that site you found? The one that said the method that the police had used to catch the other traffickers,' Amber reminded him. Li glared at Hex.

'The fool proof method that always worked and was entirely safe,' Li muttered under her breath. Hex ignored her.

'That's my point. All of these other traffickers have been brought to justice, but not Cho. Wonder why that is? He can go around doing whatever he wants, like kidnapping tourists, and not get in trouble. Suspicious or what?' Li nodded as did Paulo and Alex. Amber hesitated. They had already been in hot water and Hex had almost lost his life. She didn't really want to delve straight back into the lion's den again, but what could she do? Hex was staring at her, waiting for her answer. Amber sighed and reluctantly nodded. He smiled at her and then turned to Paulo.

'How much longer should I rest for?' he queried. Paulo chewed his lip and look at Hex critically.

'Are we in a hurry?' Paulo asked Hex. Hex thought about it for a moment and then shrugged.

'Sooner the better.' Paulo came over to Hex and lifted his t-shirt, examining his stomach.

'That stuff is awesome,' Li remarked as she peered over Paulo's left shoulder. Hex rolled his eyes and looked at Paulo.

'Well? What's the verdict doc?' Paulo let Hex's t-shirt drop and tapped a finger on his chin.

'If you rest up today and apply that cream all the time, we can probably start looking tomorrow.' Hex grinned and reached for the jar of cream by his bed.

The arrangements made, Alpha Force spent the first part of the day resting and working out the finer points of their plan. It had to be seamless if it was going to work. They were planning on leaving after lunch and travelling on the train back to where they had started their holiday. The festival was still on for that day and the next so they decided that that would be the best place to try and find Cho, supposing that he was back in the city and not still up on the mountain.

Once they had eaten lunch, Alpha Force walked to the train station and bordered the train. It was a couple of hours journey so they all got comfortable. They train was surprisingly empty and Alpha Force managed to get a cabin all to themselves. Hex and Amber had fallen asleep, leaning up against each other and Li smirked. She nudged Paulo and Alex in the ribs and mouthed, 'told you so'. Alex smiled then gave a gasp and pulled her and Paulo down. He rummaged in the backpack and motioned to the others to keep their heads down. Li was confused, but played along. Alex cast a wary glance upwards and breathed out a sigh of relief. He sat back and rubbed his hand over his hair.

'I can guarantee that Cho will be there,' he said. Li and Paulo looked at him in disbelief and surprise.

'How?' Paulo asked. Alex raised his eyebrows and grinned nervously.

'Because he's on this very train.'

* * *

They were doubly careful when exiting the train station when they reached their destination. Paulo came up with the idea that if Cho was actually looking for them, he would be less likely to recognise them if they went in small groups. His friends had agreed and Paulo had blazed the trail by venturing out first. He walked down the street, then texted Alex. _All clear. Meet at car hire. _Alex and Amber moved off, walking casually so as to not attract attention. When Paulo sent Hex a text, he and Li joined the others.

Paulo was in heaven. He took ages asking the owner of the car hire shop heaps of questions about each of the cars but finally they managed to drive away. Paulo sat behind the wheel, a relaxed look on his face. Hex sat in the passenger seat next to him and Li, Alex and Amber were squashed in the back. Paulo drove them to hotel and they climbed wearily out of the car, one thought in their minds; rest.

Hex collapsed gratefully into bed, even though it was still early evening. Paulo rubbed some more dream on his stomach and Li placed a bowl of food in his hands but he was so drained he didn't notice either one. As he drifted off into sleep, the bowl fell from his hands and crashed to the floor, shattering the china and spilling its contents over the wooden floorboards.

**The next chapter will be very action packed if all goes to plan. Sorry this one is pretty boring.**


	15. Chapter 14

Hex had a weird feeling of déjà vu. The people surrounding him where just a pressing as when Alpha Force had first arrived in China and Amber was standing next to him again. Li and Paulo were pushing through the crowds, Alex darting along behind them. He strained his eyes as he stood on tiptoes, trying to see if he could spot Cho or one of his heavies. Suddenly Amber grabbed his arm. Hex winced as her fingernails dug painfully into his flesh as she pulled him out of the crowds and into a shop doorway.

'By the park bench,' she murmured in Hex's ear. Hex casually flicked his eyes to the spot that Amber was talking about and saw Cho in a heated discussion with a large man. Cho was gesticulating wildly, waving his arms about so that he almost knocked a young woman off her feet. Hex nodded to Amber that he had seen him and then pulled his mobile out and texted Alex.

Alex pulled his phone out of his pocket. _Found what we were looking for; Amber saw it by the park bench. Will meet you at the café to discuss our purchase,_ showed on the little screen. Alex sent a text back to Hex, then caught up with Li and Paulo and told them that Cho had been spotted. They made their way to the little café that they had decided would be their rendezvous point. Hex and Amber had already arrived and snagged a table in the corner of the shop. They had a good view of Cho and could see that he was still talking to the man.

'What do we do now?' Amber asked.

'Follow him and see where he goes. That man could well be a buyer and Cho might have another lot of babies coming through,' Alex said. The others agreed. Hex reached inside his backpack and retrieved his camcorder. Paulo stared at it in amazement.

'How did you get that back from Cho?' Hex laughed.

'I didn't. It was sitting in the hotel room all this time. Knew it would come in handy,' Hex replied.

'But shouldn't you have had it with you so we could film Cho handing over the babies? You know. For our original plan,' Li pointed out. Hex smiled sheepishly.

'Ah. Well, it should have been with me but I guess I forgot it. Good thing I did too.' Li shook her head and Paulo laughed. Amber just rolled her eyes but Alex remained serious.

'So we have a way that we can prove what Cho is doing. Who's going to do the filming?' he asked. Hex was clutching the camcorder to his chest. He had already lost his precious palmtop and there was no way he was parting with his camcorder.

'I'll film,' he quickly offered. Alex nodded; he had expected that response.

'Who wants to go with him?'

'Amber can.' Li piped up. Amber shot her a glare but Alex nodded again.

'Good. We'll be your backup. Get in to wherever he operates, film what you need to and get out. If he isn't doing anything don't bother and get out. We don't want a repeat of what happened earlier.' His four friends nodded solemnly. The events of the past few days were still fresh in their minds. Hex shivered and shook his head. He looked past Paulo's head and leapt to his feet.

'Cho's on the move.'

* * *

Amber slipped silently through the shadows, Hex behind her. They had tailed Cho but he had only gone to his house. After watching nothing for an hour and a half, Alpha Force had given up and drove back to the hotel. At about 6:30 pm, Alex had sprung up from his seat next to the window.

'Paulo! Is that Cho's car?' Paulo nodded and they had tailed the trafficker to a huge warehouse on the outskirts of town, which was where Amber and Hex were creeping into. They were both wearing black and had camouflage cream spread over their faces. Hex had the camcorder in a pouch strapped to his belt and they both had their phones in the pockets. Li, Paulo and Alex waited out of sight around the corner of another building, ready to step in or call reinforcements at a moments notice. Hopefully they wouldn't need to come to that.

Hex tapped Amber on the shoulder and pointed to a door. She nodded and they pushed it open carefully. After checking that the cost was clear, they slipped inside, shutting the door carefully behind them. They were in. Silently they crossed the room and pushed open a second door. It led to a dimly lit corridor that had one battered wooden door positioned at the end of it and another door about halfway along. Amber opened the door in the middle of the corridor and quickly shut it again.  
'People,' she mouthed. Hex nodded and the moved down the corridor.

The second door was much more promising. It opened into a huge space containing several large containers and various boxes scattered about in it. Hex filmed the scene as they scurried behind some shipping boxes. They crouched there fro ten minutes, waiting to see if any one would turn up. Amber's leg was cramped and she rubbed it. Hex pointed to his watch and held up five fingers. Amber sighed and settled back. Five more minutes. They had all agreed that this would be the only chance that they would get to find evidence. If they didn't get anything, they would hand it over to the police. Amber ground her teeth in frustration. _Come on Cho. Give us something. _

As if he had heard her thoughts, Cho strode through the double doors at the other end of the warehouse. He was shadowed by two of his guards. The door that Amber and Hex had come in though swung open and two more guards came in. They were followed by the large man that Amber had spotted talking to Cho earlier that morning. He strode inside and started talking to Cho in English. Amber turned to Hex and was about to mime filming to him, when she saw the camcorder in his hands, the lens trained on the small group. Hex smiled at her and nodded, then turned his attention back to filming.

'Tommy Young. What a pleasure to see you again.' Cho extended his hand towards and Young shook it. 'To business.'

Young nodded and gestured around him. 'Sure we won't be overheard?' Cho laughed.

'No one comes down here and my men know to keep their mouths shut if they want their pay checks. And their lives.' Cho tone was conversational, not threatening in any manner, but Hex saw the guards stiffen and then glance about them as if that might stop them from hearing their boss' conversation. Young nodded again.

'You have a load of babies coming down soon, correct?'

'Yes. You could have had them sooner but I have had a few problems.' Young frowned.

'What problems,' he asked Cho suspiciously. Cho shrugged.

'Oh, this and that. Nosy kids playing hero.'

'But you got rid of them right?' Cho tilted his head from side to side.

'Yes and no. I was going to but they escaped. They won't try anything funny though and even if they go to the police, I have some friends in high places.' _Hex was right_, Amber thought. _Glad we didn't go to the police._

'So when do I get my shipment? Tomorrow? I can't keep my customers waiting much longer, Ling.' There was a pause while Cho did some mental calculations.

'Tomorrow afternoon come and see me again. If I haven't got them by then, I will fix something up for you.' The two men parted on good terms and the large room was empty again. Amber slid closer to Hex and squeezed his arm.

'Ready?' she said quietly. Hex snapped the display screen shut and nodded. He went to move away from the cover of the boxes, when Amber stopped him.

'Wait here for a minute.' She slipped past him and disappeared out of his sight.

Hex shifted nervously. What was she doing? He had evidence, so they could leave. He was really worried. She had been gone for five minutes. His phone vibrated gently in his pocket and he fished it out. It was a text from Amber; one word. _Go._ Hex felt his heart leap into his mouth. Something had happened. He leapt out from behind the boxes and darted down the warehouse. _Go._ Amber must be in trouble and was telling him to get out with the evidence, but there was no way he was leaving her. Not while he had a breath left in him. He rolled behind some more boxes and peered out from behind them. He had a clear view of the driveway outside and he felt sick by what he saw. Amber's lifeless body was being thrown into the back of a van. Hex battled with the urge to leap at the heavies and try to rescue Amber. He had the evidence. If he got out, they could tail the van and alert the police. He shifted position and felt something hard under his hand. Pushing back to plastic covering, he started. His palmtop sat in its protective black case. _Fancy finding that here_, Hex thought. He clipped it to his belt then ran back across the room and slipped out of the warehouse. He could hear the van starting up and he sprinted around to where Li, Paulo and Alex were waiting.

Li jumped when Hex crashed into the side of the car. He had a wild, desperate, fearful look on his face and he pulled open the door and threw himself inside.

'Follow the van. They got Amber.' Paulo didn't need telling twice. He turned the key in the ignition and the car roared into life. Paulo put the car into gear and they shot forward. As they came round the corner, the van rocketed past them and Paulo had to swerve sharply to avoid a collision. This would have been ok, if the car hadn't spun out and stalled. Paulo cursed and started the car again, but it was too late. The van had disappeared and Hex gave a groan. Li put her hand on his arm and fought back tears. What were they going to do?

Alex had his phone out and was ready to dial the police, but Hex snatched it away from him.

'No.' Three faces stared at him in surprise.

'What do you mean "no"? The police will find her much quicker than us.' Hex shook his head.

'I heard Cho in there. He said he had all the high up police officials on his payroll. Telling them will just put Amber in more danger. We find her ourselves.' Li looked at Hex's face and saw him fighting to keep control of his emotions. She gave him a quick hug then nodded at Paulo and Alex.

'We do this on our own. Amber's in enough trouble as it is. We'll get her out.' Her words sounded sure enough, but she was unsure. What if they couldn't find Amber? What if they found her but they were too late?

**Ohhhhhhhhh. The suspense. I will try not to be too mean and get the next chapter up as soon a possible. It could be very soon as a matter of fact as I am on a roll and full of ideas. The next chapter could be a bit short but I don't know for certain. After the next chapter, I will have one more and then this story will be done. **


	16. Chapter 15

**This chapter is quite long as I thought to make my second to last chapter long and action packed with a touch of affection thrown in. Hope you enjoy...**

As soon as Alpha Force returned to the hotel, Hex grabbed his palmtop and downloaded the video footage on to it. His friends gathered around and watched as Cho and Young sealed the deal. The screen went blank for a minute and then it showed Amber, being thrown into the back of the white van. Alex winced and Hex glared at the screen, as if that might make Cho release Amber.

Just as Hex was about to shut the palmtop off, a little light flashed in the corner.

'You've got mail,' Li remarked as Hex clicked on the link.

'It's a video,' Hex said as he waited for the palmtop to download the footage. He gasped as the video began to play. Amber was tied to a chair, her face had blood streaked across it and her eyes were wide with panic and fear. Hex gripped the table edge so hard his knuckles turned white. Li put a hand on his shoulder as Paulo squeezed her other hand.

'She had her insulin injection before we went out, right?' Alex asked. Hex nodded but his eyes didn't leave the screen. Cho's voice boomed out of the speakers as he moved to stand behind Amber's chair.

'Hello again. You lot are troublesome aren't you?' He ruffled Amber's short cropped hair and she jerked her head away.

'Don't touch me,' she said through gritted teeth. Cho smiled.

'This message is mostly directed to one of you in particular. Hex, I think that's what Amber said.' He turned to look at Amber. 'Am I right?' Amber didn't react and Cho shrugged. 'Oh well. Names aren't important. Hex, if that's your name, I have a deal for you. I have something you want and you have something I want. We can do a swap. I'll give you Amber if you give me the video you took in the warehouse. Oh yes. Amber told me all about your little escapades.' Amber hung her head. 'So. What do you say? You have an hour to make your mind up. Meet me at the warehouse then and don't bother contacting the police. They have already been informed and it would be a shame if you all happened to lose your lives. I will-' Cho cut off as someone shouted something from off screen. He hurried away and Amber seized her chance. Cho hadn't turned the video camera off and they could still see into the room.

'Don't do it. Don't give him the camera. Find some other way. Whatever happens, don't give up the evidence or-' A bullet flew past Amber's head and embedded itself in the wall behind her. Amber screamed and tried to pull free of the bonds. Cho tutted and then the screen went blank.

Hex jumped up and slammed the palmtop lid shut. He grabbed the camcorder and palmtop and headed towards the door.

'Let's go.' Alex grabbed hold of Hex's arm.

'You do know that Cho isn't going to give Amber to us, even if we do give him the camera,' he pointed out. 'He'll kill us all.' Hex nodded.

'That's why we're going to break her out of there.'

* * *

Paulo tapped his fingers on the ground and looked at his watch. Li sighed and placed her hand over her eyes.

'Paulo. For the final time, no matter how many times you look at your watch, it isn't going to make things go quicker.' Paulo grinned at her but glanced at his watch face anyway. Hex and Alex had gone around the other side of the warehouse to check the outbuildings. He felt a vibration in his pocket and pulled his phone out. Paulo read the text message, then put the phone away.

'They think they've found where Amber is being kept. Alex is coming back to help you but Hex will stay and keep an eye on things.' Li nodded as Paulo got ready to crawl back to the car. He was going to be their getaway driver. Li and Alex were going to set the warehouse on fire which would hopefully distract Cho and his men for long enough so that Hex could get Amber out. Paulo paused for a moment and wriggled back to Li.

'Please be careful,' he said affectionately. Li smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

'Aren't I always?' Paulo squeezed her hand and reluctantly crawled away into the darkness.

* * *

Hex and Alex crouched behind a jeep. Hex was fidgeting and biting his lip in anxiety and Alex attempted to calm him down.

'Hex.' Hex looked at Alex. 'Chill mate.' Hex let out a gusty breath and wrung his hands together.

'What if we got it wrong? What if Amber's really hurt? What-' Alex clapped a hand over Hex's mouth. Alex felt sorry for him. While all of them were worried about Amber, Hex was particularly edgy. Alex was sure that it was Hex's feelings for Amber that were making him like he was. Alex placed his hand on Hex's arm and gave a squeeze.

Across from their hiding place, a medium sized shed slanted to one side. It didn't look very stable, but it was the only building left, apart from the main warehouse, where Amber could be. For the past five minutes, Hex and Alex had waited for some indication that Amber was inside and finally their patience was rewarded. One of Cho's guards opened the door and strode outside. He clashed the door behind him and locked it, before striding away. Hex and Alex shared a look of triumph mixed with fear. The guard hadn't had the door open for very long, but it had been enough to let them get a look inside. Amber was still tied to her chair, her body looking frail and lifeless. Alex could hear Hex grinding his teeth as he texted Paulo.

'I'm going. Wait for our signal, go and get Amber and meet us back at the car. If you can't get there, text me and we'll pick you up somewhere else. Good luck.' Hex nodded and Alex slipped away.

* * *

Li gave a sigh of relief ad Alex dropped to the ground next to her.

'Paulo?' he asked. Li nodded and flicked her hand in the direction of the car.

'Already gone,' she replied. Alex pulled a box of matches out of his pocket with a pang of loss. When they had been captured, Cho had taken his two most precious possessions; his knife and his survival kit. Both were almost always strapped to his belt and the past few days had felt weird without the familiar weight of them. Another reason to make Cho pay.

There was a large pile of boxes on either side of the front side of the warehouse. Li took a handful of matches and Alex took the rest before they ran to their targets. Alex quickly lit a match and put it to the boxes. It caught quickly and Alex lit anther match. He kept going until the fire was starting to become too hot for him to sit near. Li had done the same thing. They ran back to where Paulo had the car hidden; it was to dangerous to try and help Hex and Amber now; already a group of people had swarmed from the building and were frantically trying to put out the flames that were leaping higher and higher. Paulo flinched as a sparks leapt from the boxes and started a smaller fire in another pile of wood. Li finished texting Hex and jigged her leg nervously. _Come on guys. _

* * *

Hex heard the commotion as the guards became alerted to the fire. They all ran around the front to deal with it just as Hex got Li's text. He got up and ran across to the shed where Amber was being held prisoner. He picked the lock all the while muttering under his breath, 'Please let her be ok. Please let her be ok.'

He got the lock open and pushed on the door.

'Amber?' Hex hurried across the room. Amber lay awkwardly in the chair, her face hidden in shadows. 'Amber? Are you ok?' Only when he was standing right next to her could he see the gag. He felt his anger double and quickly untied her. As soon as her arms were free, Amber flung her arms around Hex's neck and gave a fierce hug.

'You have no idea how glad I am to see you,' she whispered. Hex hugged her back, momentarily forgetting the danger they were in. He felt a swell of happiness at her words; maybe she meant more than the fact that he was going to get her out. The yells of the men as they fought the fire dragged him back to reality. He pulled away from Amber and looked her in the eyes.

'Are you ok? Paulo, Alex and Li are waiting with the car so we have to go quickly.' Amber nodded hesitantly. She had a bit of a headache, but felt relatively fine; Cho had at least had the decency to have a guard wipe the blood off her face once he had turned the camera off. Hex was still looking at her so she gave a firmer nod.

'What about you head? You had blood all over your face on the video.' Amber gave a humourless laugh.

'Cho had one of his heavies put pig blood over my face so I would like worse than I actually was. They just knocked me on the head but didn't actually cut me.'

Hex seemed satisfied and they moved towards the door. He pushed it open and peered cautiously around. Alex had sent him a text just before he had finished picking the lock saying that there was no way he and Amber could get out to the front as the whole place was crawling with people. They were coming around the back to pick them up. All they had to do was get out of the warehouse grounds. Hex couldn't suppress a grin. Almost done.

A blow to his stomach sent him reeling backwards. He gasped with pain and bent over double. Amber screamed as two guards loomed out of the darkness. They grabbed her and Hex and dragged them outside. Hex's bruised stomach was in agony. The blow hadn't been that hard, but after the beating he had taken earlier that week, it was enough to put him in serious pain. They guards threw them on the ground and stood in front of them, grinning. Amber crawled over to Hex and put her arms around him. He had been so brave trying to rescue her and now he was paying for it dearly. Hex slipped his arm around Amber's waist and pulled her closer to him as one of the guards got out his gun. Amber whimpered with fear and Hex shook.

'So touching. Even in your last moments, you still love each other. I wonder how strong that love is.' Cho walked casually onto the scene as if he were out for a Sunday stroll, not about to order his guards to shoot two people. He talked in a low voice to one of the guards, who smiled and nodded enthusiastically. The guard came across and pulled Amber away from Hex. He frogmarched her back to Cho who was rubbing his hands excitedly.

'Oh how I love games!' he trilled happily. Amber noticed he was wearing a bullet proof vest. What was going on? The guards had also pulled on a Kevlar vest each and suddenly Amber realised.

'You're sick!' she screamed at Cho. 'You get enjoyment from watching people suffer!' Cho smiled as Amber continued her rant, letting vent to all of the anger, worry and pain she had had to endure since Cho had got hold of them. She ran out of breath and Cho simply nodded.

'You are right. I am sick; sick of you and your pesky friends thinking you are all high and mighty, wanting to play heroes. If you had of just left me alone to go about my business, you would back in your hotel room right now watching TV or whatever else you do. But no. You interfered with my plans, my life, and now you will pay for it. One way or another.' Amber was confused. Why was Cho talking to her? Why didn't he just order the guards to shoot her? And what had he meant when he said "Oh how I love games"? Cho stood to one side as the guard turned her around to face Hex. The guard held out his gun to her and she felt her heart stop. He wouldn't...

'I am giving you a choice, Amber. Either you shoot your little boyfriend or we shoot both of you. If you shoot him, you will go free.' Amber stood in shocked silence. Hex's fear filled eyes stared at her.

'Take your time, Amber. It's a tough decision and you have a right to feel scared. But don't worry. You aren't the first person I have offered this chance to. They have all taken it and shot the people they love. It's a big world out there Amber. You need to learn not to trust anyone; you shouldn't love anyone or you could be faced with heartache. Like now. I wonder Amber. What will you choose? Will you follow the others or take your own path and be the first to resist my offer?' Amber stared at the gun in her hands, then looked at Hex. He had a neutral expression on his face. As she made eye contact with him he smiled at her.

'Whatever you want to do,' he said softly. Cho heard and seemed surprised. Never before had the victim said anything like that. They had always begged and pleaded but in the end were always shot by the person they loved. Amber felt a lump rise in her throat. Hex had always looked out for her first, putting her safety above everyone else's- including his own- and now here he was saying that whatever she wanted to do was alright. She looked at the gun one last time, then threw it on the ground. She ran over to Hex and hugged him, tears pouring down her face. He kissed her forehead and hung onto her tightly. Amber sobbed harder regretting the thoughts that had been going through her head. How had she even thought about killing Hex for even a second? She knew that there was no way she could have pulled the trigger, but even that spilt second thought made her feel terrible. The top of her head felt damp and she realised that Hex was crying too.

Cho watched them with a mixture of anger, amazement and... Admiration. The admiration and amazement quickly died down and the anger welled up. _They spoilt the game!_

'Stupid girl! You gave up a chance to be free. Why?!' Amber didn't say anything and this seemed to enrage Cho more. Gone was the calm and authoritive man that had run his trafficking business so successfully for so long. In his place was a madman. He grabbed the gun that Amber had thrown on the ground and turned it over in his hands. Hex shoved Amber behind him and glared at Cho.

'Go on then. Make it quick.' Amber frantically tugged at Hex's arm.

'Don't Hex. Please. You're making it worse.' Hex continued to taunt Cho until the trafficker could stand it no longer. With a roar he pointed the gun at Hex.

* * *

Paulo parked the just as Hex and Amber were pulled from the building. They watched them huddle together on the ground, but didn't dare intervene when they saw that the guards were armed. Cho had a quick conversation with one of the guards who then went and dragged Amber away from Hex. Li frowned and then her eyes widened when the guard gave Amber the gun.

'Oh my God!' Li gasped. 'He wouldn't make Amber shoot Hex. Would he?' Amber fiddled with the gun and it seemed like she would actually pull the trigger on Hex. Li groaned and Paulo pulled her closer to him. She hid her face against his chest and waited for the gunshot. Paulo gave a sigh of relief.

'It's ok.' Li risked a glance out the window and saw Amber and Hex holding each other close on the ground.

'What happened?' Li asked. Paulo shrugged.

'I did not see. Alex?' Alex frowned.

'Nothing apart from Hex saying something to Amber. She threw down the gun just after.' He fell quiet as Cho snapped. They watched him yelling at Amber and Hex, saw him pick up the gun as Hex pushed Amber behind him and then saw him train it on Hex. Li turned away again. If they barged in now, they would all be shot as well.

Li waited for the shot but heard sirens instead. She jerked upright as police cars roared into the warehouse grounds. Armed police leapt from the cars and pointed their guns at Cho and his guards. Lights from the other side of the warehouse showed that the other members of Cho's team were getting the same treatment. Alex, Paulo and Li jumped out of the car and ran across to Amber and Hex.

A policeman was talking to them and Hex was doing most of the talking. Amber still clung to him like a possum and he had his arm around her waist again. As they walked up, the policeman left. Li squeezed them both in a hug.

'Living on the edge. Don't you love it?' Amber gave her a withering look as Paulo gave her and Hex a huge hug too. Alex smiled and raised his eyebrows.

'Bit close there, huh?' Hex nodded but Amber felt very awkward all of a sudden. It was Alex's comment. "Bit close there" reminded her of how close she was sitting to Hex. She contemplated wriggling out of his grasp, but she realised that she didn't care what her other friends thought any more. _Whatever they're thinking is probably true anyway_, Amber thought. So she stayed next to Hex until a paramedic came to check them over for injuries. The paramedic left them in the ambulance for a moment while she went to check with her supervisor and Amber suddenly felt awkward again. She shifted in her seat and looked around the ambulance.

'Amber.' Hex sounded a bit nervous. 'I just wanted to thank you. For not shooting me.' For some strange reason Amber found this funny. Hex looked deadly serious though, so she fought her giggles down.

'You didn't really think I'd shoot you, Hex.' She paused. 'I couldn't.' Hex opened his mouth to ask her what she meant, but the paramedic came back and said that they were free to go. Outside, Hex didn't feel comfortable asking Amber what she had meant and the quickly made their way over to Paulo, Li and Alex.

'We have to go and give statements,' Alex announced as they came within earshot. Hex nodded but Amber seemed off in her own little world. They drove to the police station and after they gave their statements, Hex showed the officers the video footage they had managed to get. After many awkward questions, Alpha Force were allowed to go. They drove back to the hotel and collapsed into bed, each of them with their own thoughts spinning over in their heads.

**The next chapter will be my last. Should be up quite soon so keep a look out. Once this story is done, I will be concentrating on Dear Diary. **


	17. Chapter 16

**To finish off, this chapter has zero action and quite a bit of romance but read it if you want to. In answer to a question about why the police came, let's just say that someone tipped them off and they arrived in the nick of time. Also the fire had something to do with them coming.**

Hex lay in his bed. He was exhausted, both physically and mentally, but sleep just wouldn't come. He had too much on his mind. Well it was actually one thing but he was so confused that it felt like a million. Amber. So many times over this holiday turn mission he had thought that Amber may have returned his feelings. So many times he was on the verge of blurting out how much he loved her but he had always chickened out in the end. He frowned a she remembered back to just a few hours before. Amber had been holding onto him and she hadn't shot him so maybe that meant something. Hex rubbed his forehead in confusion. Of course she wouldn't have shot him. That didn't mean anything- she wouldn't have shot Alex, Paulo or Li either. He had no idea what was going on apart from the fact that he knew he loved Amber more than anyone else. Why couldn't he tell her then? A little voice in his head said 'You're a coward. You're afraid of what she might say and what will happen.' Hex shook his head but the voice got louder. _I'm not a coward. _'Tell her then,' the voice taunted. _Fine. I will. But not verbally._

Grabbing a piece of paper and a pen from his backpack, Hex frowned in concentration. He needed something to right on. Reaching for his palmtop, Hex realised it wasn't where he had put it. _Strange..._ He decided to look for it as soon as he had finished the letter, even though it was in the early hours of the morning. If he went searching now, he would never write the letter. Hex grabbed a book and started to write.

* * *

Amber tossed and turned in her bed. She willed sleep to come but it stayed stubbornly at bay. Why hadn't she told Hex when she had the chance? The way he had acted when they were back at the warehouse had been quite a good indication that maybe he felt the same way about her that she felt about him. Or she was completely wrong and he had been comforting her for other reasons. Amber sighed and realised that she would never get to sleep if she kept thinking like this. If only she had told him... She pushed all thoughts of Hex from her mind and rolled over, her hand flopping out of bed. She yanked it back up again. _Ouch!_ Amber peered over the edge of the bed and saw something in a black case. Hex's palmtop. How had that got in here? Hex never let it out of his sight if he could help it. The sight of the palmtop gave Amber an idea. She pulled the palmtop out of its case and was about to boot it up, when she realised that she didn't know Hex's password. _Bugger. There goes my brilliant plan._ Amber flipped open the lid anyway and was startled when she saw it was already turned on and logged in. _What on earth...? _It seemed slightly suspicious but Amber pushed her doubts away. She opened up a new word document and started typing.

* * *

Hex tiptoed across the room. He had finished writing his letter and decided to leave it in one of Amber's boots which were sitting outside the door of her and Li's room. As he walked outside the door, he tripped and stumbled. Hex looked down to see what had tripped him and gave a sigh of relief. His palmtop. His relief turned to puzzlement as he picked it up. How had it got out here? Oh well. He had it back so what mattered. After slipping the note into Amber's boot, he went back into his room. He grinned as he thought of Alex sharing a room with Paulo. The Argentinean snored like an elephant with a cold and Hex was thankful that he had his own room. Once he was seated on his bed, Hex booted the computer up and logged in. He frowned. On his desktop was a shortcut that hadn't been there last time he looked. It was for a word document. Hex clicked it open.

_Dear Hex,_

_This is really hard for me to say. Type. Whatever. I figured that if I typed it on your palmtop, you might take it seriously. Don't freak out, please. I just wanted to tell you something important. Well I think it's important but you might not._

_I wanted to thank you for everything you've done for me. How you put my safety first ahead of your own. I can't thank you enough for all the times you've trusted me: the earliest- when I had to get you the antibiotics when you got bitten by the Komodo dragon and the latest- just a few hours ago when I was holding onto that gun. _

_That's another reason I'm typing this. I have a confession to make. You know when I said in the ambulance that I couldn't shoot you. I meant it. I could never shoot you, Hex or hurt you intentionally in any way. Do you know why? It's the same reason why I am mean to you sometimes and poke fun at you. It's the same reason why I feel safe when I'm around you. It's the same reason why I was clinging to you before. It's the same reason why I'm typing this letter. It's because I love you._

_Amber_

Hex stared at the screen. He read the words another time and felt his heart swell. He shut the palmtop down and lay back in his bed, sleep finally coming.

* * *

Amber put the palmtop gently down outside Hex's door and stood in the corridor. The next time Hex logged on, he would find the letter she had typed. That freaked her out a little bit and she suddenly felt very thirsty. Amber tiptoed along the corridor to the bathroom and had a glass of water. She heard a thump back out in the hall but didn't think anything of it. As she came out of the bathroom, she saw that Hex's palmtop had gone. That thump must have been his door shutting. Knowing Hex, he would be on the little computer right now checking everything was alright with it. Amber hurried back to her room but in her haste she tripped over her boots. The boots tipped over and a piece of paper fell out. _I wonder what this is._ Amber picked it up and walked back into her room. She grabbed a torch and snuggled under the bedcovers so that she could read it without waking Li. It was a letter.

_Dear Amber,_

_This will probably come as a shock to you but I have to tell you. A letter seemed to be the best way as you know how I am with expressing emotions and stuff. That's why I never told you._

_When I first met you, you were so horrible to me. I couldn't wait to see the back of you. But then we were shipwrecked and formed Alpha Force and you changed. I changed. It was after our first mission that I began to admit it to myself. When the holidays came round, while I was excited about seeing Li, Alex and Paulo, it was you who I wanted to see the most. _

_When we were at the warehouse I realised something. Life is so fragile and if I don't tell you now, then maybe I won't ever get a chance. There are times when I thought that maybe you felt the same way about me as I feel about you, but I know I'm wrong. That's another reason why I haven't told you. I was scared about how you'd react, what it would do to Alpha Force and our friendship. But now I realise that it's not that scary anymore. What is scary is the thought that with all of the trouble we seem to get in to, I might die before I tell you how much I care about you. Just in case I never get another proper chance to tell you, I'll tell you now. I love you Amber. _

_Hex _

Amber looked at the paper for a few minutes, her eyes drifting over the text without really seeing it. She felt happy but nervous at the same time. What would it be like in the morning? Glancing at her watch, Amber felt a little wave of dread sweep over her as she realised that dawn was in just a few hours. Amber pushed the dread away. What did it matter? Amber turned the torch of and closed her eyes. She drifted off into sleep with the paper still clutched in her hand and a smile on her face.

**It's done! Pretty long but I hope everyone liked it. Thanks to every single person who reviewed; I owe you guys heaps! Without you I wouldn't have had ideas or that bit of a push to get this story this long, let alone finish it. Thanks again guys, I appreciate it heaps and send hugs your ways. **

**Emmalea xxx**


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